Turning 40

Midlife... they say this is the halfway point.

I don't aspire to ever reach the age of 80, so I think I'm way past my midlife, probably 5 or 10 years ago.

People at work have been so sweet. Some came up to kiss me while I was on a call and it was sooooo distracting but a welcome distraction nevertheless. Others would hug me close. It was so touching!

I've had something like a hailstorm of email greetings and text message greetings in my cellphone. Of course, my family called up to greet me. So, so happy!

Today, I was awake at the stroke of midnight on my birthday. This is the third time in my life that I was ever awake at midnight on my birthday. The first time was on my 30th birthday. I had dinner with my best girl friend and my closest male friend. It was at Bennigan's. The restaurant staff served a miniature cake topped with a sparkling candle and they sang me a jazzy rendition of Happy Birthday. That was sooooo embarrasing. But I so enjoyed that night.

The second time I was awake at the stroke of midnight on my birthday was last year. I had just started working as a call girl... oops, a call center girl, that is. My shift started at 10 o'clock in the evening. No one knew then that it was my birthday because I kept the date to myself.

Today, for the third time in my life, I was awake at the stroke of midnight on my birthday. My shift starts at 12 o'clock midnight. These first 10 hours of my birthday were some of the most memorable 10 hours of my life. I am soooo lucky to be in this account. Even if the pressures of work can be too much at times, I am inspired by the love of the people who became close to me in my workplace. People here get close so easily because it's like you're together in the trenches of a battlefield and it's a war out there!

I am amazed that these people like me so much. Most of them are almost half my age. Yet, there is no generation gap. Inspite of the age difference, they consider me their friend. They say it's because I don't impose my opinions on them. They also say I don't boss them around like most older people. The reason for this, of course, is that I am of the opinion that "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

I love these kids! Especially in my small circle. And they like me back because they say I can relate to them. It helped that I used to teach people almost the same age as them before I worked in the call center.

Lessons in the past come to the surface. Somehow, all those lessons learned just add to the reasons why I appreciate life more. Now I have learned to look forward.

I'm looking forward to a lot of things. Travelling, reading new books, spending time with my niece and nephews. In fact, on this long weekend, I'm planning to spend time with my nephew in Pangasinan.

As Forrest Gump's momma told him, "... you've got to put the past behind you before you can move on." And that's exactly what I'm going to do!