Wednesday, September 08, 2010

A Birthday Post

It is almost midnight and in just few ticks of a clock, it will be my birthday. Sleep is a stranger and it is when the surrounding universe is dead that thoughts come alive. Another year older. What have changed? Definitely a lot. This is probably the first time that I will celebrate my birthday away from home. I don’t even know if celebrate is a proper word because I will spend this birthday alone.

Then suddenly, in the stillness of the night, thoughts reverberate…

“You’re all alone”

“Nobody really cares.”

“Suppose you fall… suppose you get sick…”

“If anything happens, who would know?”

“How long before someone might find you?”

“Who would you call?”

“Who would rush over?”

“Who would care?”

“Everybody has somebody, you have nobody.”

“You’re getting older.”

“You need someone with you.”

“You shouldn’t be alone.”

“What if …”

So I thought yes… “what ifs?”. And it is definitely endless because “what ifs” subdivide. What if I didn’t let her go? What if I didn’t leave my former job? What if I didn’t pass the Bar? What if I listen? What if I didn’t listen? What if?

Regrets? Nah, in my more than three decades of existence, I didn’t have major, major regrets so far and I would like to thank my family for always been supportive of my decisions.

Kidding aside, life is full of choices and I do have my share of bad ones. But I do believe I am optimistic enough to see the good in every bad choice I made. What is important is to learn from those mistakes and just move on.
Now, on to lighter things:
Eight is my birth date and is my favorite number. If you happen to notice, I almost always put eight photos in every post. And since it is my birthday, let me share 8 things about me that I haven’t shared before:

1. I joined a singing contest twice. The first time was in a boy scout regional camping trip where I represented Nueva Ecija and I placed 3rd. The rain started to pour when I sang and it ended when I stopped. The second time was in a local radio station where my classmates forced me to join so that we could win a Romnick-Sheryl concert tickets and I did win the tickets.

2. I have a cousin who was a teen-age heartthrob in the seventees (remember apat na sikat?), but she got impregnated and migrated to Canada. She told me that when I was about 5 or 6 years old, I had a cameo appearance as a street child in one of their movies.

3. My parents almost named me Mario because I was born on Mama Mary’s birthday. I am the third eldest and my Diko was supposed to have my name but our neighbor preempted that by naming their son “Norman”. My Tatay, remembered that name at the last minute so there it goes.

4. I was so torpe in my elementary days that I cried when my crush found out that I like her. I cried because my classmates teased me no end.

5. As far I can remember, I almost died three times. First was when I was crossing a street and a car suddenly bumped me. The second time was when I was learning to ride a motor scooter and the bike suddenly sped-off hitting a building. The last one was when our boat overturned in the sea. In all instances, I only got minor bruises.

6. I pretended to have the “F” and the “V” syndrome to turn-off a date. And I have been using the trick eversince.

7. I do not know how to use Photoshop and I never had any formal training in photography. I do use Picasa and Canon’s Digital Photo Professional to edit my photos and I learn techniques from joining other photo-bloggers when traveling with them;

8. I am scared of spiders specially the big ones. It’s ok when they are not moving but when they start to crawl, it will always surely freak me out. But I do like Spiderman. 

And of course, what is birthday without wishes. So in no particular order, here are my 8 wish list:

1. A wife. Lots of children to follow.
2. Ultra-wide angle lens and a zoom lens to replace my lens taken by the sea.
3. A US visa so I can visit my Nanay anytime.
4. A week-long Batanes or Siargao trip.
5. A trimmed 65 kilo weight.
6. A condo unit.
7. An ideal law job.
8. A healthy (or at least cordial) relationship with my former colleagues.

If you happen to be kind enough and want to grant some of my wishes (hehe), my e-mail is at the bottom of this webpage. :)

What a journey it has been. More than three decades of existence… but I know I am only halfway through. Happy Birthday Lawstude!!!

Wherever the road may lead… I know I will find you there! - Oman

40 comments:

  1. you are never alone bai, happy birthday! inuman na? hehe

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  2. happy birthday!!

    i do wish of a batanes trip also hehe

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  3. being independent has a lot of perks, believe me! been alone for more than 10 years and it was the most amazing time of my life.:p

    interesting things to know about you. mahilig ka pala kumanta, videoke party na--birthday mo naman e (at tag-ulan din!).:p

    wishing you the best on your birthday, my friend!

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  4. Di ko alam kung matatawa ako o maiiyak. Eniweys, Happy Birthday my friend and many more to come.

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  5. Happy Happy Birthday po!
    can i be one of your followers starting today? naggala po ako dito sa blog mo and sobrang nagustuhan ko yung mga posts mo..galing...as if i've been to those places just seeing the pictures.
    goodluck po and i wish you more travels and posts to come.. :)

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  6. naghahapi bday! san ang lakad! inuman naH!

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  7. you not liking spiders is classic. haha!

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  8. yihaa! happy birthday Oman! Mario pala sana dapat. hahaha... ultra wide lens... bilis mo lang makamtan yan. at syempre ang visa, importante talaga.

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  9. happy birthday mario este oman!

    dito lang kami, tawag ka lang pag mejo homesick ka na dito sa manila. :)

    more travels and kulitans to come.

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  10. and I will include in my prayers that you'll have your own family soon. (naku, madami dami ang kasama sa list ko nyan).. hehehe

    happy bday atty!

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  11. Huwaw! Happy birthday lawstude! hehehehehe mas nakilala ka na namin ngayon dahil sa mga shinare mo... hehehehehehe... more blessings to come...

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  12. Happy Birthday Kuya Norman!!! hehehe

    Hope all your wishes come true this year. San ka manlilibre?!

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  13. It was nice reading through this rather personal post. :) I also like number 8 for another reason, I don't know, too, how to use Photoshop (LOL) and I did not notice that your photoset in a blog post normally comes in 8.

    We join you in praying about your birthday wishes. Happy birthday!

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  14. Happy birthday Mario! este Oman. :)

    I enjoyed reading this post. It's very personal. Not all men can actually admit what you've admitted here. Haha.

    Ang hirap naman ng wishlist mo. Hope your #1 wish gets granted soon! :) And by the way, try applying at OSG. They have lots of perks.

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  15. Happy birthday blog brother! Hope it's a good one.

    I really enjoyed this post a lot. A few notes:

    1. I hope you find your life partner soon.

    2. I know Apat na Sikat - Si Winnie ba ang cousin mo? Sha lang ang napreggy but she went to US di ba with Bong and not Canada?

    3. Wow, three times you have cheated death. May 6 lives ka pa. I guess you were once a cat :) in your previous life.

    4. Swerte mo kab/day mo si Mama Mary.

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  16. happy happy bday atty! wish all your wishes to come true... esp # 1,
    in His time you'll find her, for the mean time sit back, relax and more trips... god bless you atty! =)

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  17. happy birthday, lawstude!
    three things:
    1. what's F & V syndrome?
    2. go, mag-batanes ka! i can give you contacts/ travel tips. you won't believe it but i spent 15K (airfare and lodging included) for an 18-day stay! last year, i spent my birthday there. alone. best birthday i had so far.=)
    3. hey, being alone isn't so bad. it gives you a chance to discover and appreciate your best company - yourself.
    keep on traveling. have a great year ahead!

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  18. WOW---para akong nagbasa ng memoir ang in this single post---I felt like I have known more facts about you than in the past few months that i have been following you. These are intimate facts and I admire you for taking the courage to share them. more than 3 decades of existence, yeah, halfway palang but you have surely lived a full life. I hope you get your wishes.

    btw:
    nabigla ako nung inamin mo na dika marunong mag photoshop. ngayon di nako mahihiyang sabihin din an di ako marunong.lol

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  19. Last year I celebr8d my 27th birthday alone in the wee hours of the morning somewhere in the streets of Dau,Pampanga when I was left by the plane to BKK. I planned to celebrate my birthday alone in a foreign land but I ended up eating in a carinderia. I know a rider who celebrated his birthday riding alone in his motorcycle for 48 hours from Manila to the tip of North Luzon, that was during the height of a typhoon.

    Despite being alone, I still call it "celebrate". For once in our life, we should travel alone. One travels more usefully when alone, because s/he reflects more.
    Needless to say, I used to have so many regrets in my life..what if's/should haves, until I realized, everything indeed happens for a reason.I stopped measuring my success by what others have and haven't done. I am way far from my achieving my dreams, but what matters now is, I stopped looking back and kept moving.

    You're one lucky guy Oman, your loving family supports you,you are a lawyer,famous photog/blogger and I can go on and on and on..the point is, being able to enjoy life w/ the freedom of choice, living your life the way you want it,and being here alone is a reason enough to celebrate and YOU are one BIG reason to celebrate! ;)

    Happy birthday Atty! May you be blessed more! :) Keep exploring!

    Cheers!
    Gael

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  20. Happy Birthday Attorney. Do not be too sad and find solace in the fact that you made us, your readers, happy with your posts. Keep it up.

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  21. A blessed birthday to you! Perhaps the US visa is just an application away at the US embassy. Your being a lawyer will help you get a tourist visa.

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  22. Happy Bday! Wishing you that your wishes come true. There's nothing wrong if you spend it alone.. it is a good way to spend time for self-reflection and achievement you have in the past...
    I would also like to share that I also did something to make a memorable birthday... I did apply for a job for the whole day to have a one-of-a-kind day. I don't consider it a lucky day since its my birthday that I will get a new job but for me it is a unique way to spend my birthday not in the usual manner.

    Cheers for a more great years ahead of you.

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  23. Feliz compleanos!

    I love this post. It's different from the ones you usually write.

    Happy birthday, Lawstude!

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  24. Belated happy birthday. It is always nice when a blogger spills the beans so to speak. Nice to know these trivial things about you.

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  25. It looks like the tree has become a canopy.

    Happy belated birthday.

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  26. Awww... nice post! Belated Happy Birthday. All I can say is that your wishes will come in God's time. Wishing and praying with you.

    PS. thanks for your visit and yes, we seem to be trippin' on the same stuff. Hahaha! And I am still blogging about food! :-)

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  27. Oman/LS: Certainly do wish you had a great birthday. 30 is still really young and may your wishes come to fruition. You certainly have the knack with the camera and show your country wonderfully. I hope your celebration brought you joy my friend. When you get to the USA I hope we meet.

    I like you have had no training in photography and shoot at will at the subjects. I only use a simple editor I got with a camera.

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  28. attorney, happy (belated) birthday. ang emo ng birthday post mo. pero damang-dama ko bawat linya. hehe.. this birthday post is one of a kind (among your blog posts) and i enjoyed "discovering" THE atty. Oman we admire for being a good photoblogger/travel-blogger. gusto ko sanang matupad lahat ng bday wishes mo kaya lang:

    1. sira ako sa pagiging kupido, at yung "more children to follow" ay salungat sa kasalukuyan kong trabaho (advocate kami ng family planning) LOL :P

    2. la akong pambili/panregalo ng lens na magagamit ng professional na photoblogger na gaya mo ;)

    3. hindi ako nagtatrabaho sa US Embassy, hahaha

    4. gusto ko rin mapuntahan mga lugar na yan

    5. pareho lang tayo ng problema pagdating dyan LOL

    6. wala rin ako pambili ng condo unit. marami lang ako, condoms :D

    7. hmm... eto baka may referrals ako..? what is an "ideal law job" ba for you?

    8. yan pang number 8, kaya mo ma-achieve yan! ;)

    kampai!

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  29. happy bday bro :) Interesting facts about you , esp when you want to turn off a date hehe. Keep blogging !

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  30. uy belated happy birthday. sorry ngayon lang ako nakapagbloghop. more blessings to come! kasama na dun ang kulitan :D

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  31. Belated happy birthday, Idol. Pareho tayo dun sa dalawang inenumerate mo - I take pride in not photoshopping my photos (I use picasa din and the free software I got from Canon long time ago)...at takot ako sa gagamba.Hahaha.

    Happy Birthday again. Icelebrate mo yan ng buong month para mas masaya. All the best sa mga trips at sa photography.

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  32. Belated maligayang pagtanda!

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  33. ow this is late just the same HBD!

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  34. super late belated happy birthday, oman! lahat ng wish mo will happen if you believe and always have the opportunity to make things happen :-)

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  35. blated hapi bday greeting to one of the best photoblogger i admire!..MORE POWER!..and RGDS.

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