one year?

Last night when we were having drinks, Guillaume told me that as he sipped his mojito, he was on the plane to Dubai exactly a month ago.

And then I realized I have been here for almost a year now. In February I will be celebrating my first anniversary in Dubai. Has it been that long? I didn't notice.
During my first six months here time dragged on and I couldn't wait to find a job I really wanted. Since I got this job, time has been going so fast and all I've been doing is enjoying the ride. Especially now that my circle of friends has become larger, and there's so much more to see in this crazy city, it seems a few more months before going back home isn't such a long wait.

Dubai feels like home now. I tried to deny this feeling, insisting that my heart still belonged to Manila, and it still does. But it wouldn't hurt to acknowledge the fact that living in this place has done so much to make me braver, and see things in a way I'd never considered before. And I embrace my Dubai life now. I stopped converting to peso like a madman...well I still do that but only when it matters. I also started getting involved with fellow Pinoys in Dubai, something I really wasn't sure I wanted to do. But now Im enjoying it. And of course, I now have pictures of myself and my friends in different places, on different occasions, and I proudly post them here or on Friendster. These are signs that I am really living the Dubai life.

I know that Manila will always be my number one. My family and friends are there and that is where I really belong. But for now, since I cannot live there, I am making the most out of Dubai.

2006 was such a roller coaster ride. The despedida dinners, the goodbyes, the excitement, the loneliness, the awe, the desperation, the heartaches, the dead ends, the depression, the rise and fall, the happiness and the slow tranformation from missing Manila to fully living Dubai-style. They all sum up the past year for me.

2007, I pray, will be much better. It surely started on a good note, to put it lightly. The UP alumni chapter's many worthwhile activities, my closest friends, my exciting job, and of course my dear Guillaume, I can only be thankful to God for giving me such blessings. A far cry from the early months of last year. This is happiness at its peak. Happiness I cannot even describe, that's why this stuff I'm writing is such a mess.

I love life. And I am not just convincing myself. I truly do. I truly truly truly do.