the dog of Pavlov

what could i say about 2008? well, i would say its a good year. not happy, but good. i became really serious and focused when it comes to academic stuff. actually, thats what the year is mostly about, my school life. i placed everything else on hold. or for those stuff i cant put on hold, i let go, unfortunately. 

i was able to complete one full year of "committing" to the single life. sure ive been single my entire life but when i meant committing to the single life, i really mean "single and not looking and will never be interested to look" kind of single (its like switching into a stone cold prick living on an island shouting "leave me alone" whenever a creature that looks like a relationship pops up). no silly text mates, no "fraudulent machinations", no mixed signals schemes, no intimate non-sexual interaction, and no voluntarily entertaining any thought that would go against the single life im committing to (because i dont have full control of my subconscious. dreams of me having a non-single future is becoming more frequent). if i could only make this a subject of a wager, this would be much easier. well, not really. im not a good gambler. 

i also spent the year thinking about what i will do in the next few years. no concrete plan yet but a few plans are taking shape. more than a year ago, my life had no direction (or so it seems). im a leaf being blown by the wind. not really. i was aimless but not necessarily carefree.

what else happened this year? well, a college blockmate got married (and eventually got pregnant), had an impacted tooth removed, some of my college blockmates took the Philippine Bar exams, had my kinky story read on air by the "swiss miss" on the BrewRATs radio show (the night before a midterm exam), attended my first court hearing (not as a lawyer but as a law student), my cousin gave me her iPaq (very thankful for it but i realized that i became too dependent on it that when it malfunctioned, my life was "derailed" a bit), had back to back semesters with 20 units each, became an OLA Teamleader (which means that i cant be a lazy ass), the eraserheads had their reunion concert (goosebumps all over when i heard the first few lines of the first song sung), realized that i love ateneo after all, i adore audrey hepburn, my cousin and her family went to the US (and will stay there until my niece finishes high school. i think), learned that i will not graduate on march 2009, august remains to be a pain in the neck, had an interesting birthday, turned 25, my father retired, i became more cruel, arrogant, harsh, demanding and temperamental (side effect of being in serious mode, i feel like im in a position to lecture others on how they should live their life), got hooked on HIMYM (which made me realize im not part of a "sitcom" at the moment), and lastly, had a wonderful december because i think it was the month of the year where i was able to socialize the most (because i spent the other 11 months saying no to any form of social gathering or finding an excuse not to attend). 

i gained a lot of stuff this year. not what i wanted but its a gain nonetheless. its focusing on what i think i need and ignoring what i truly want (well, thats what ive been doing all these years but this year, i took it two levels higher). thats why 2008 is a good year but not really a happy one.

i think this year is also about proving to myself what im capable of. of course, im not satisfied. i saw that though i was able to improve myself emotionally and mentally, i completely neglected the physical aspect of myself which became a problematic limitation.

as for next year, im thinking of going for "i dont want to survive, i want to live" theme. i still have two days to think it over. i want to make sure that the "training" i underwent this year will not go to waste if i decide to "let go and simply live". ive never been a fan of life since 1997.