Thank God It’s Thursday

Last night, my solid clique since college freshman days, decided to waste the night away at Bunk Bar in Mandaluyong. It’s a hidden bar located at the 8th floor of a residential condominium (Jovan Building) in Shaw Boulevard, in front of PCSO building.

At first, the place was sort of sketchy because the building looks old and the elevator was under maintenance (we were forced to take the steps til the 8th floor). But all the calories were worth burning when we reached that hidden haven up above.

Aside from the food and drinks, Bunk is worth coming to for its music and ambiance. The quality and tone of the environment were fit for anyone who just wants to hangout and forget the world for a little while.

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Bunk took me to a completely different turf, like I wasn’t in Manila at all. The traffic was an eye-candy, with all the lights from the seemingly toy vehicles below. The whole place was engulfed by the city skyline, not to mention the mighty glow brought by the lightning. It’s the perfect spot to spend the night chilling after a day’s worth of stress from fulltime jobs and whatnots. For a moment, Manila was not the energy-draining, godforsaken place that it is. For a while, Manila brought peace, rest, and comfort. For once, Manila was the home it never has been to me.

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Aneque Na, Bes?

I can’t quite believe it’s been a year already since I strutted my way to that stage, proudly wearing my Sablay. Having unlocked a major achievement, I remember feeling relieved – relieved from all the stresses caused by thesis statements, production visions, org responsibilities, and theoretical frameworks. “Natapos din ang lahat ng paghihirap ko,” or so I thought.

Life in UP was equivalent to all-nighters, canned goods and pancit canton, free-flowing tears, or in one word – hell. I used to believe that the key to heaven was nothing but that piece of parchment paper we like to refer to as the “diploma”. Little did I know that that piece of parchment paper is leading me to nowhere but another hell. Haha.

I guess adulthood is even more evil than UP can ever be. I thought graduation would direct me straight to my well-paved way to greatness. How was I supposed to know that it’s an effin’ labyrinth out there? I mean UP was a maze, too. But I had a compass back then. I knew that the way to get out was to study and to do whatever it was that I had to do to pass the semester. It wasn’t easy but at least I knew the steps (or had an idea on how to deal with the steps). When I stepped out of the UP maze, I discovered that the compass doesn’t always point north. More often than not, there’s no way to find out where exactly I’m heading. Every turn opens the door of “what’s next?”

It’s not a question that my undergrad self uttered probably thousands of “I-want-to-graduate-already” in different versions, through different media. Back then, I believed that graduation would save me from being broke, stressed, and what else. “Pag nagttrabaho, at least binabayaran ka. Unlike pag nag-aaral, napapagod lang.” What a philosophy, I’d say. The biatch in me didn’t know what she was talking about.

It’s been 365 days already since graduation day. What has become of that girl who used to think that commencement exercises are the answer? Well, here she is, getting paid already but still as broke as she can be. No love life. No added stamp on her passport. No grand achievement since that chance to wear the Sablay.

Nevertheless, it would be unfair to just dwell on what’s still missing. Yes, there aren’t achievements I can consider grand as of now. But I guess in those 365 days, I’ve taken the baby steps to “grand achievements”. There have been plenty of discoveries already – about me, about the universe, about life, about dreams. And I wouldn’t have found out about them if I didn’t step out of UP. Besides, UP did not educate me just to have it easy. What would be those sleepless nights for if they were not preparations for a tougher phase of life?

After 365 days, I still don’t know what’s the best direction to take. I’m not even sure if I wanna get out of the labyrinth. All I know is I want to at least enjoy the challenge and learn from it. After all, moments don’t happen twice. Might as well have fun rather than stress myself out. Beautiful stories have difficulties and I want my life to be one so I have to live up to adulthood’s crazy. I’m not sure when the next unlocking of achievements will be. I can only hope that it’s in the next 365 days.

Don’t worry, I’ll probably blog about it next year. 🙂