Turning 30...

...no, not me. At least not yet. Tonight we had a suprise birthday for my friend Dona. Her closest friends from UP and SGV were invited. We met up first at Starbucks sa Greenbelt while the organizers, Harry and Clars, plus some friends of Dona and mine from UP (Ana and Dominic) were having dinner sa M Cafe at the Ayala Museum. We were "instructed" to go to the cafe one by one every five minutes and when we got there we were given three flowers to give to our friend and greet her happy birthday.

I came in with Joy and Pia. We greeted Dona from behind kasi her back was to us pagpasok naman ng M Cafe. The look on her face when she turned around and saw us was a classic (not to mention the "oh-my-gawd" expression that came with it)--sobrang surprised talaga. Her birthday's not until September 29 pa, but I think that day was made wonderful in advance because of tonight's wonderful surprise. :D (Pictures follow this post. Will post more as soon as I get pics from Dominic.)

....am thinking now if it's a big deal to turn thirty. Is it a big deal? Other people think it's a big deal and actually chide me about turning thirty next year. I smile and laugh along with them pero sa loob-loob ko... hmmm, so what, tigyawat? What difference does it make? er... should it make a difference at all? Ika nga: "age is just a number". More and more I feel that is true, now that I am, ahem, coming of age.

Thirty-shmirty... who cares? I think the most important thing is what we do with the years we have lived and not how many years we lived per se. And I don't think the main debate is about being old vs. being young--the main point is to keep things fresh and new always. This means opening one's mind about things and keeping this mind open to new ideas even if they carry the risk that the old ideas we had held on to for so long will be debunked. Turning thirty becomes a scary thing only if we allow ourselves to become outdated.

On the other hand, turning thirty also comes with it a sense of achievement... like a certain level of wisdom has been reached. But only, i guess, if tunay na may pinagkatandaan ka nga. It's an ugly thing to see immaturity at 30--infinitely uglier and more idiotic than immaturity at 13. The best part about being thirty is the fact that you're already done with the teens and the twenties... yes, there is definitely a sense of been here, done that. You can look at those still struggling through their acne-prone or quarterlife-crisis years and smugly smile, saying to yourself,... thank heavens I'm done with that.

I believe my friend, Dona, is in that been there done that stage. She's in a certain state of contentment that ensures facing the big "three-oh" will be a graceful affair and not a scary ride. Should this state of contentment wear off, however, she'll definitely take consolation in the fact that, in a few days, our other friend Kaye's gonna take the ride with her, and in a few months, myself, Joy, and Edelle will all be turning thirty too. If turning 30 becomes a fun ride, then we'll have fun together. If not, then we'll still have fun getting depressed together too.