My Year 2006

Year 2006.

Hmmm, my gut feeling tells me that this year will be a good one for me.

Not that the preceding year wasn't. Well, I've had highs and lows last year but more than anything, I guess to be able to have a good year, one must go through more highs than lows. And I am not ashamed to admit that I did experience myself near to the ground on the whole.

For you guys to understand me in full, I have decided to let the cat out of the bag and give away a few episodes throughout my past year...

The downside of 2005 would be suffering the loss of two significant people in my life... one in the flesh, the other one in spirit. You see, there were copious of equally important people that ended up nowhere to be found in the past years but these two really left my heart broken into tidbits - Wenda and Fx...

Let's start with Wenda... She has been my best friend since the epoch of innocence. But now that we are older, she has decided to leave for Ireland to be with her fiance'. She said it's going to be pretty much permanently. Oh, you know... get married there, have kids perhaps and establish a career she could not find here in the P.I. It's funny how I envisioned myself growing old with her since my marriage failed. I mean I am her independently dependent best friend after all. Call me unselfish but I always rush to her only when I am dismal... or alone... or bored stiff. And now that she's far away from me, I can't help but get panicky. When will I ever hear her comforting words? Her boisterous laughter that is truly infectious? Her bickering that is almost no different to mine? When will I ever see her nods to both my sound and unsound reasoning? There are ways to communicate, I know like the net or mail or phone but being accustomed to the ever-changing time and to modern technology could not even compensate for the pleasure one gets when with a great friend... in the flesh.

Then there's Fx... Francis Xavier Manzano was one of the three guys ferociously killed in Ortigas. Carjacking is a weighty crime and the police pointed fingers at him and his two other companions causing a fight to the finish with guns. It would be pointless for me to say that F is not guilty of anything... That he is nothing but a good friend... the kind of friend who would walk the mile with you and for you... the kind of friend who will be there to listen to your internal strife or to some shaggy dog stories... the kind of friend who would visit you and bring you food when you are sick... the kind of friend who will not get mad at you even when you are dead drunk and too dimwit to vomit inside his car... who would not hesitate to bring you to places you love to go to because seeing a smile on your face gives pleasure to him... it would be pointless, really because the other people who didn't know him took his life straight off... without allowing truth to be known... without letting F defend himself... without giving my friend a much deserved respect... a more decent demise. I am one of the many people still grieving and still crying. Each one of us is in dire need for fair dealing in this country. I just hope F gets his justice soon. It really pains me how he exited. Nonetheless, nothing can ever bring back F's life but I know wherever I go, he being my friend shall watch over me and I shall always attach importance to his friendship... in the flesh and in spirit.

*To Wenda, you will always be my most loved friend. Yeah, we will remain to be good friends 'til hell freezes...
And as for Fx, I love you F and you will forever have a special place in my heart... Where on earth I go and wherever you may be.

Now let's not forget 2005's upside. During this year, I was able to obtain my dream job. Yes, I have the most exigent and lucrative job one can only wish to have. I get pleasure from my work as one with the challenges and the perks that go with it. I usually wish for trifling things but I always pray for a job wherein I could actually show off my skills and make myself not only working on a daily basis but also beneficial to the company that I am working for. God knows how I became a Production Manager in a matter of months but it's a privilege I cannot pass over and I am going to do my doggone best to be worthy of the position bestowed on me - So far so good, anyhow.

And as I've said, I smell more triumph and sweet stories this 2006. I will - without a shred of doubt - fill this year with hurrahs and high spots.

Watch me...