change

       I like to think that I'm rather open to changes. As a kid I had always thought of myself as adventurous. Look back on things, however, I realize that I wasn't quite as daring or audacious as I would've liked myself to be. For instance I remember how strongly I protested when my mom gave me chocolate milk that was a brand other than my favorite (it was Sustagen. My old favorite, that is). Or how I was never eager to go on family trips to the bukids (that isn't to say that I didn't enjoy those outings; I most certainly did. It's just that I was slow to warm up to the idea of stepping beyond the four walls of my home).

     And then I thought myself very adventurous when I agreed to living on my own in Manila. College, as they say, is the adventure of a lifetime (actually they say marriage is, but I'm sticking to college for now). And now that I've tried out the independent lifestyle for almost a year now, I can say with all certainty that it is indeed an adventure.

    And then along came D. Z.

    But you don't need to know about that just yet. Actually, you don't really need to know about anything I'm about to say, or anything that I have already said. You will gain nothing from these following paragraphs except a  a little insight into how I experienced my May 12, 2011. Whatever, man. I'll just skip to my point.

  Today I had Psych class, and my goodness, I am in love with our teacher, Mrs. Lia Banzon-Librojo. She is amazing. Kids, go pick her as your Psy 101 teacher. Do it. You will not regret it. She does something awesome every day.

   One of the Awesome Psych Things that she did today was give us this awesome piece of homework. First she wrote down "QEW" on the boards, first on the left side and then on the right. Then she said, "Class, I have very important homework that I need you to complete by tomorrow. It's going to be very difficult so you might have to stay up all night working on it. I want you to forget the letters Q, E, W."

   The second she said that I willed my brain to not listen. I willed myself to do what I do best - space out - and tried my hardest to think of more distracting things, such as finals week and going home. Futile efforts. Mrs. Librojo proceeded to say, "Is that clear? That's Q, E, W. I want you to forget the letters Q, E, W. Q, E, W. Q, E, W."

    Obviously I am failing miserably at the assignment so far.

. . .

    In the afternoon I met up with my dear high school friend Anna (it feels weird calling her "high school friend," because we're still friends after all) at Greenhills. Her mom treated us to snacks at Sbarro (so delicious ;_;) and I was happy because I really miss my home, and she reminded me of how it felt to be back in CDO.

   Anyway, when I returned to the dorm, I was greeted with rather big news from my roommate of two weeks, Teacher L (we call her that because she's a teacher. Yes I needed to point that out). It's been hours after her big revelation and it's STILL a bit much to process, so I shall break it down into bullet points because it is easier to digest that way.

1. First she said that she's moving out of Dormitoryana.
2. Next she said that she found this place in Xavierville that's cheaper than Dormitoryana.
3. When asked how much cheaper it was than Dormitoryana, she said it was cheaper by X000 much.
4. Elaborating further, she said it was P2,500 a month.
5. As my other roommate J and I stared at her, mouths agape, she explained further that P2,500 a month comes with free wi-fi, a communal kitchen, a communal living room (with a TV), a communal terrace, and a walk-in closet you share with your roommates. 
6. Then she said that the place was owned by D. Z., a certain GMA celebrity whom I have heard of before but never really cared about. 

    J and I were intrigued, so we took a trike over there with Teacher L to check the place out for ourselves. The landlady showed us in. The place looked pretty small for a celebrity's pad, but very big for a dorm. Actually it's not even called a dorm. It's a town home being rented out. And the people who live in it are called bedspacers. So technically speaking, if ever I decide to move into this town home, I will be a bedspacer, and not a dormer. Weird. 

    Anyway, the first thing you see when you step into the front of the place is that to your left are three rooms, each with three beds. The landlady said that those rooms were for boys, but more on that later. Then when you go inside the house proper, you're greeted by a living room. With sofas and a TV and a coffee table. Few steps more and you're inside a kitchen, with sparkly black granite countertops and an actual dining table with actual dining chairs. And there's a fridge. And cupboards. And drawers. And a sink. 

   Go up the stairs and the first room on your right is Teacher L's new room (D.Z's old room), and each of the occupants of that room have closets that are twice the size of our current ones at Dormitoryana. That's FOUR CLOSETS. For ONE PERSON.

   Okay now I must shift back to the first person. (Yeah I'm just telling you up-front what I'm about to do now with regards to my writing. I'm too lazy to write nicely.) So we went to the room on the left, the only one with slots still available, and when we went inside it we were surrounded by celebrities. D.Z. was there. So was her husband and her adorable little baby boy. And then her handsome, grown-up baby boy. And then another handsome GMA star, P.B. And then another whose name I do not know. They were all just chilling and joking around and drinking Red Horse and being good-looking. They were all very nice, too. They welcomed us right in. I wished for a brown paper bag that I could pull over my head because my face was burning. 

   Anyway, it was a very big room. Twice the size of my current room, and pristine-looking as well. White paint. Black tiling. OMG. D.Z. herself showed us to the walk-in closet, and it led to the bathroom (same size as our current one, but such beautiful tiles OMG and a bathtub too OMG). J told me later that there were seven closets in the prospect room (SEVEN CLOSETS DIVIDED AMONGST FOUR PEOPLE OMG).  

   J and I left the house feeling very confused. 

. . .

   So far the only thing that Dormitoryana has going for it is its location. Few steps away from Rustan's. Five minutes' walk from Ateneo. Location-wise, it's the best deal you can get if you're dorming outside Ateneo. 

   D.Z.'s town house is in Xavierville, so it's a long walk to Katipunan, and an even longer walk to Ateneo. It's inside a subdivision too, which means the nearest grocery store is not a few steps away. And there's also that issue about having to share the place with boys. Ick. Think of all the cooties. 

  I don't know. There's a part of me that wants to jump into this place because, hey, it's an adventure. It's the part that's telling me to stop being a pansy, worrying about the distance to school or to a grocery, because I'll get used to it eventually, and it's all a matter of sacrifice really. 

  But then again, I think of the many times that nice friends have walked me back to my dorm, and it's so easy because it's so much nearer to everything. Living farther away just makes everything a lot harder. 

  And now I can't help but feel frustrated at all these changes. I haven't been in my current room more than two weeks, and already I'm thinking of moving to a different dorm! 

  I can't decide right. I'll give it a lot of thought and prayer.