i miss Abu Dhabi-- the humid summer days when my sister and i would stay up all night giggling, gossiping, talking, or watching tv until the wee hours of the morning. i miss the way i had to sneak in an ungodly hour so that i could use the internet and chat with random people without my parents catching me.

i miss the way i used to live five minutes away from the beach where my friends and i would hang out on weekends... when our gimmick for a saturday night was dinner at Burger King and a stroll at the beach afterwards. we would play Truth or Dare and torment the guys until we've squeezed every little secret they had. on the walk back to downtown Hamdan (where i lived), we would drop by Baskin Robbins every time-- a scoop of Very Berry Strawberry on a waffle cone would instantly make me high. i miss my bellyache laughter whenever i'm with my friends: Daivy, Jern, Jane, Raiza, Anna, Leigh, and the guys. they made me laugh so hard that i wouldn't be able to breathe. i remember a time right before Christmas when my friends and i went to a park near Corniche with pizza boxes from Shakey's. we were supposed to celebrate something (i no longer remember). i was all happy and i was skipping like a mad woman. there was this bush at the park and for some unexplicable reason, i decided to jump over it Olympic style. i didn't know that the grass was wet so i ended up on a semi-split after my sneakers landed on the wet grass which nearly tore the crotch of my jeans. it was hilarious. i looked up hoping that no one saw but to my horror jane was so red of laughing so hard. she saw everything. those were fun times.

then there were movie treats after quarterly exams. it was a ritual for our batch to watch a movie as a form of celebration after exam week. there was this time when we were late so the movie already started. the lights were off and we were trying our best to work our way around the theater. jern ended up tripping with a huge tub of popcorn flying high up on the air like confetti. we found her a few seconds later amidst our laughter on the floor with her hair on her face. i laughed so hard and as karma, i nearly tripped over with my popcorn but thank goodness i was able to balance myself. i had a lot of mortifying moments too where Winston started calling me Charlie's Angel. we used to try to trip each other along the hallways. one time he stuck his foot so high that i tripped and fell flat on my face with both arms stretched in front of me on the floor. i was walking with leigh and raiza on the way to the cafeteria. when they looked back, they were looking for me. they were puzzled because i was just at their backs a few moments ago. then they found me on the floor half laughing and half crying. yes, only i can do that. haha. it was embarassing but whenever i think about it, i laugh at it.

our batch was also the black sheep of the high school. the guys were really boisterous (and funny at the same time so you won't hate them but you'll love 'em). we had the school principal as a teacher for english in junior year. everytime she'd walk out of the classroom each time she gets mad, darwin would hold up his hand and would start counting: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. true enough! the principal would walk back in and resume the lesson. haha! then there was this one time when Jie slammed the door and the principal was about to walk into the classroom. the door hit her nose and she got so mad at Jie. ahh! that was hilarious.

we also had a teacher who would pronounce the "P" in words as "F". she'd say, "Pamily Flanning" (family planning) and it killed the whole class. we'd try to suppress our laughters but to no avail. we'd end up laughing like madmen anyway.

i won't forget my Arabic teacher Tr. Eman who hated me when i first moved to the school because i was too lazy to memorize the arabic alphabets. then in sophomore year i was motivated to learn and started acing my dictation quizzes in Arabic. a few years later after taking my last final exam with her, she said to me "why do all the good ones have to go? at first you were lazy. now you're very good." that just made me smile so wide. i was glad that i got to the good side of her and she saw the good side of me!

those were fun times. there are a lot more memories but i'm afraid you'd scroll for eternity if i'd go back and pick up those fragments of the past one by one. i'm glad i went to the UAE for high school. when my dad announced that were going to move there, i was more than ecstatic because i knew that the sunny side Emirates wasn't just desert. thanks to Star Travel on cable ;)

i miss the shopping in Dubai. the family trips we'd take almost every weekend. we'd drive to Dubai on Saturday morning and it was the best bonding time for my family and i. my dad would share his corny jokes and my mom would nag him on his driving. she'd tell him that he's going too fast on the freeway even though my dad's driving wasn't that fast. that made me really happy, the quality time with my family. on late night drives back home, i'd look out the window and see nothing but the desert and i'd smile. i knew i was lucky that i got to live a few years of my life in a place that i called "home" for three years.

that's why it really broke my heart when i found out that i wasn't going to graduate with my high school friends, the people that i really loved and spent the most memorable times in high school with. i had to move back for senior year so that i could prepare for college along with my sister who graduated from high school.

but almost all of us are home now. we're just busy with our school stuff but i really want to see them again MORE THAN EVER.

to you guys: YOU'RE THE BEST!!! I LOVE YOU :) Daivy, Mac, and Roseline... we hope one of these days you guys would be able to join us when we go out so come home already! :)
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one of the best feelings in the world is to come home to a small pup jumping up and down as she greets me from school. she'd run around like a dog induced with caffeine (she's that hyper!) and would also follow me EVERYWHERE i go while i walk around the house. she's getting bigger (and more playful) and she's getting hairier too! haha! but she smells like shampoo all the time which is why i like playing with her and holding her. she loves it too!

had our first practice for the presentation for DSS (Department of Social Science) week today. it was fun. took loads of pictures for the scrapbook. here are a few:

no class tomorrow. ANTHRO123 exam on thursday. review tomorrow. exam wednesday. argh. here we go again. good night, folks!