Joy in the Gaps

I do not know where to start. Honestly, my mind is still in a daze. I just got home from an essay-writing contest. As much as I would love to post what I had written, unfortunately, all I have with me right now is the trash-worthy draft and it lacked the concluding sentences (I was the last to submit my paper and I went way past the time limit, hence the final touch-ups directly on my final paper). As soon as I recall what those were, I promise to post the piece here, ASAP.


Believe it or not, I have three pending entries and they had been in my drafts since last week. It's just that feeling when you don't know how to end your work, you know. There really are things you easily start that you eventually have a hard time completing. Life. It works like that most of the time. I hope this explains why I had not been posting as quickly as I had been before.

And due to my disappearance and the feeling inside that tells me I owe this blog a decent post, I hereby proclaim this entry a compilation of my Monday events. Not so exciting, eh?

Aaron and Ben, my seniors, are now officially calling me "Katrina". It was Ben who thought my real name was "Katrina". And after I commented that I actually found the name "Katrina" pretty neat, they decided among themselves to call me that, which I personally believe is pretty childish. I also do not know why, but they had teased me this day like crazy. They teased my hand-writing (which, according to Aaron, looked like chicken scratches), how I cram-studied this morning, how our field trip next week sucked, and how I was to represent our house for Touchstone. Really, they teased me non-stop from morning until evening, which is crazy and annoying in a good way, I admit. We didn't even become friends until today. It's funny how one day could change things.



While I was busy re-writing my essay, Aaron snagged a seat beside me, and surprisingly cheered me on while constantly commenting casually on how my penmanship turned from bad to worse like it was the most natural thing on earth. If that wasn't enough, he even snatched my ID from my desk and stifled a laugh as he stared at it -- my ID photo. As annoying as they can be around me, I think they're pretty okay. They'd make the perfect "brothers" who are supposed to do nothing but ruin your day but still give you a good laugh about it.


After the essay-writing contest that nearly killed my hand, our society adviser handed some of us two thousand pesos for a "little" treat. The streets were ankle-deep in flood already, but do not underestimate how much we could sacrifice for our baby tummies. The water which was probably already mixed with garbage, canal fluid, and spit, apparently didn't stop our group from wading to R. Kelly Pizza House which was only a block away from school. I know, we might had acted desperately already, but as long as we had a whole pizza for each of us, none of it mattered. Leptospirosis didn't haunt us, and it never crossed our minds. We were victors with every slice of pizza we stuffed into our mouths.


This was a Monday worth remembering. There are people I miss, of course, but I had finally learned to be content with what I am offered right now. Although I found several missing spots in my being tonight, I had learned to fill them with the Lord's joy, instead. I met new friends, and I spent time with my other friends -- the ones who needed more attention. Maybe God is directing me to them, the ones I had forgotten. Sometimes, when the world pulls you way under, you tend to want to forget about the things that truly matter, but then, the Lord knows better and eventually lifts you up back again on your feet, and reminds you of what you have to do. And unless you could never learn what He wants you to learn right now, I don't think you could move on to the next phase. Think Super Mario, friends.

"Listen, Aine. Listen. Stop being a selfish and stubborn brat. Listen to Him. Listen."