Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter

At the very last minute–around yesterday morning I think–my dad decided that he wanted to go to Baguio today. That made me kinda glad cos I sure as hell didn’t want to be stuck in Manila all summer. We were supposed to leave early this morning but my dad slept late last night. It’s 11 a.m. now and it looks like we won’t be leaving until around noon at least. Which means we will get to Baguio at around 6 p.m. or maybe even later if the traffic is bad. I will be spending my afternoon in the backseat of the car, looking out the window and watching the roads and houses go by as if it were a movie. I hope it won’t be too boring.

I’m really worried about going to the thriftstores this year. That’s pretty much the highlight of my trips to Baguio–thriftstore shopping. Those stupid local teenybopper magazines have pretty much advertised the thriftstores and since it’s Holy Week I’m quite sure there will be hundreds of people thriftstore shopping today. So much for my personal shopping paradise! I’m worried there won’t be any cool clothes and shoes left. I know it’s such a shallow, teenager thing but my friends have already seen every single outfit I have (that’s the price one pays when one goes out a lot!) and I need something new. I need new school shoes as well and I’m not buying at the mall cos someone else will surely get the same pair as me. I know you might be thinking about what a cheapskate I am for preferring thriftstores to the mall. But I don’t give a damn about what you think. Thriftstore clothes are 100% unique and they fit and they’re a million times cheaper–that’s good enough for me.

So I’ll see you guys in a couple of days; I don’t know when I’ll be back.

All that I could never overcome

I spent my first day as a sixteen-year old taking my guitar lessons and getting my hair trimmed afterwards. There’s nothing like a good haircut to start off the year–I have a feeling that being sixteen might be a tad interesting. Sometimes it pays to be a bit optimistic….

After my haircut, my mom and I had some iced drinks at a coffee shop which is right next door to the beauty salon. I’ve been going there more often ever since I noticed that cute guy who works there. I know I’m being very obvious but unfortunately I still haven’t worked up the nerve to talk to him or ask him his name. I did smile at him today though–finally. *rolls eyes* It’s totally pathetic but what can I do? When I’m around people I have a crush on I become this wimpy, idiotic, brainless version of myself. And I hate it a lot! What’s gonna happen to me in college if this keeps up? It’s not like I actually wanna go out with this guy, but by now I should at least be able to initiate a conversation with a total stranger whom I happen to find cute. Apparently, it seems like it will take me awhile before I can muster up that kind of confidence.

I’m getting quite bored with the songs that I have. I usually rely on other people to recommend songs for me but since Annie isn’t around right now I go to The Art of the Mix for songs I might like. It’s this website I discovered a couple of days ago, and I thought I might find something suitable to my taste because a lot of people submit their mixes there. Unfortunately it seems like most of them are into these obscure bands. 90% of the artists that they include in their mixes are artists I have never ever heard of. Who the hell are The Mountain Goats or Pedrio the Lion anyway? I guess I’m more of a mainstream person, though I usually appreciate all sorts of music. I tried downloading some of these songs, but I don’t really like them that much. Bah..

Today is my birthday and I get one every year

My dad has a lot of hotel memberships, so yesterday we checked in The Manila Penninsula for my sixteenth birthday. We only had one free room so my dad paid for another room, and then he added some extra money for the free room so my sister and I could stay in a suite. A suite. I’ve never stayed in a suite before so I was quite happy. Since our rooms were still being cleaned we had lunch at the Nielsen’s before bringing our stuff up. It’s a good thing I woke up late yesterday morning and missed breakfast because The Manila Penn has a really great buffet lunch. I was starving the whole morning, so I was able to get more food from the buffet than my usual one or two helpings.

The suite was as big as a small house and I liked it a lot. It had two separate rooms; the first room was kind of like a living room and a dining room and it had a TV. The second room was where the beds were (it had a TV as well) and then next to the bedroom was the bathroom and a kind of walk-in closet where we could place our stuff. The moment I was done exploring the suite I jumped up and down on my bed..I never get that kind of luxury at home. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent playing Suikoden II on the PlayStation and then taking a quick dip at the hotel swimming pool.

I planned to take a really long bath that night. ( my dad doesn’t want me to use our bathtub at home to take baths cos he says it’s a waste of water). I was quite disappointed to find out that the bathtub in our suite was quite slippery. My butt kept sliding and I couldn’t lie down properly. To think I had brought and lit all my purple candles with me complete with incense. I got out after about half an hour, and then I watched TV and played Suikoden II until I felt sleepy.

I missed breakfast again today because I was too tired to wake up. But my sister and I got free cake right before we checked out because it was my birthday today. We went home after eating and I spent my birthday catching up on my lost sleep. I don’t feel like I turned sixteen at all…

Thanks for all the birthday greetings. You are all so thoughtful.