the party

unlike the last time, there were no balloons, although we planned to (purple and white actually). mom was not there to cook for me, so i cooked pesto for us and who would forget the fabulous chocolate fondeu. but what i like about that day was, i finally had guests.

the last time i celebrated my birthday was when i was seven. i basically had all the dish i wanted: lechon, cakes, ice cream of two different flavors, spaghetti, buttered drumsticks and chocolate lollipops. it was the only birthday celebration i had, so its hard to forget. aside from the fact that i had everything the way i wanted them to be: the balloons, the games and prizes, everything. except for one, i had no guests: friends for that matter.

when we were young, we were probably the first family who lived in a condo. our place was on the top of a commercial building somewhere in caloocan. i actually have a plan of tracing and going back there someday.

we were alone on that floor. so we never had friends. when we moved in a subdivision in malabon, my mom forbade us to go outside since we were near a community. my mom, as the usual her, was always anxious that we might get into trouble if we play with other children. so i usually found myself playing with my siblings or staring outside our terrace looking at other children happily playing. when we moved to bicol when i was in highschool, it was pretty much the same. we still have no friends since our house is standing in the middle of the centro. surrounded by the town hall, basketball court, health center, church, park, multi purpose hall, and seminary. the next residential house is probably a couple of blocks away from us. so i confess, those were probably the first moments i was introduced to the word envy. see jinjin, you were not the only person who had bad childhood.

but everything changed after i went to baguio. gaining friends back then was actually a conscious effort on my part. nonetheless, the trauma of throwing a birthday party was still there until last week.

a couple of friends and i, who are celebrating our birthdays on the same month, decided to throw a party. at first, we were so enthusiastic about the idea. we even planned it almost a month in advance and we were even planning it at the mediocre's coffee shop in cubao. but at one point. jepoi and i were already having second thoughts of pushing it because of some quite complicated turn of events. but we gathered all the courage we could squeeze out and still pursued it.

then here comes, the actual date, a day before odin's actual birthday. we already had the suite reserved, two hours to do the groceries and then a couple of more hours to cook and prepare everything. we were all cramming. those were the rare times you wish for the filipino time to happen. as usual the introvert, who from what i have heard is always the first guest to arrive, arrived. then three more guests: a jumping herbivore, a doctor and a future lawyer. then everyone just followed: two came in white, from new zealand and the other one was from north pole. the entire badminton team came in as well together with a bitch. while a princess and a loverboy followed. even the supremes paid a visit. then finally, three more partygoers and a culturati catched up. this is the problem if you have friends who prefer to be anonymous. hahaha!

the party started silently. we never knew firstcomers are introverts too. no wonder i am always on time. but when the clock hit midnight, everyone just transformed radically. the wine, vodka, tequilla, gin and beer poured like raging flash flood. and people i never imagined dancing just grooved their things and made the floor happy. it was already 6 in the morning when the party ended. though we never thought that the real hardship was just about to begin. the suite was a total wreck! i was even at the point that i don't want to leave the room anymore, scared that the hotel staff would just charge for all the mess we have done.

nonetheless, we arrived home safely, penniless but with a smile on our faces. i just can't thank enough those people who came. but i am grateful to all of you for atleast erasing the trauma i had when it comes to throwing parties.

i just can't wait for next year, bring it on quarter life crisis!

ps

thanks poi and dabo for crossing out another list: enchanted kingdom!