twenty-six..

I'm 26 (when I come to think of it, I still have four more years to go, before panic..)! I noticed a few strands of grey hair, and at that very moment, I knew it's time to act. Now many would say, as they keep saying, that it's high time I get to the next league. I was talking to S yesterday, and she mentioned it's a shame that I'm talking to her over the phone, rather than one-full-time-girl that I should go for; Another friend S keeps telling me, every single time that we talk, that it's time for me to get married now - I know why he can say so - he's still 22, and is far away from the realities at 26; I was discussing something with M last week (M, btw, is married), when he mentioned that there is another flavor of interesting things that one gets into, once he/she gets married and gets into the monotone of daily going back to home after work. And C also has her own predispositions about 'growing up', in a peculiar manner, that I could get a hint of, today.

P, A & I were discussing the other night that we should go to Switzerland and have a holiday (before we get into the stance when we will hardly be able to go on our own). Then on a different ground, I had discussions with N to have a Europe tour. Today, another discussion with D also pitched in the intensity to the Europe tour. Hope it gets underway this time around.

I also met up with A today - from Dominican Republic, but settled in the States. A met me through HC/CS and we went around to lots of places. It is interesting to note how different cultures can be, and how far perceptions can lead the thoughts of a irresolute mind. I'll surely love to meet lots of interesting people like A, who are traveling across the world in order to find something they don't even know (obviously I would want to travel in the same manner too - it falls in line with what I told C today; that I would want to travel around the world, and then only I can say that I have "arrived").

Will this Eurotrip mark the beginning, the dawn of the 'arrival'..

Am I old enough..

Just the other day, I was thinking of how things are with my bro, and I got the perfect fodder to plug in here. Do we realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five!

That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21.... YESSSS !!! (I know that - my bro just turned 21)

But then you turn 25 (I am 25)....then 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.

Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 . . and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.

And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!


HOW TO STAY YOUNG

1.Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them"

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop."

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, Whether it's family, pets, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to hills outside the city; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER THE "EVER-REPEATED" ADAGE:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.