When I was in college, I was thinking that the only purpose of going to work was so that I could earn money to buy me the stuff I need (or want). And that was it. I brought that thinking with me even when I had my first job. I only realized that I had been spending my money on useless things when my mother asked me where I had spent my money during the whole year that I was working in this call center.

Now that I have a kid of my own, I have realized that there is a need for me to save. I need to be able to save up for our future needs and the future (as it looks to me) is approaching fast. Right now, I'm thinking that the things I have invested on are not much and I just need to invest in something that would be really valuable in the days to come. I'm thinking that I need to save up to buy myself a car and maybe a piece of land where I can build my own home.

I'm happy that my friend who has migrated to the United States has been able to buy himself a piece of property that he calls his own after looking through real estate in Austin, Texas and he now has property with his name on the title.

I sure am going to work on having my own piece of land. And that would be one of my long-term goals. (Gee, I really must be growing old for I did not have any long-term goals ever.)

My paternal grandmother underwent a procedure last Sunday at SorDoc (that's in Sorsogon). She is 94 years old and she is as frail as frail can be.

A couple of years back, my Lola Mommy (that's what I call her) also had some lenses inserted in her eyes because she suffered from astigmatism. Now, she had some tubes inserted because the tubes that delivered urine out of the body were blocked.

Because of her age, the procedure was risky. Right now, she is still recovering although my sister who's a nurse says that she's afraid that my Lola Mommy's condition may already be getting worse but I'm pretty sure that Lola Mommy's a fighter.

I thought I lost it. But I actually didn't. It had just lay dormant and now it has stirred and opened its eyes once again.

Since SonicWall had been up and running in the office, I was unable to visit most of the sites that I usually haunt and that includes Bikoy's blog. I find his blog totally interesting because I kind of see myself in him through his posts. We're both from CMC. I also love photography. If digital cameras were already as common as they are now, my blog would maybe be filled with images of UP life.

I find myself remembering those times when I was back in college each time I read his blog. And this happened just right now while I was reading his blog. There's stuff about rallies on budget cuts and tuition hikes and the call for the current president to step down from office. And then there's also stuff on Bikoy running as councilor for the University Student Council.

If I hadn't read that post on the elections, I may not have remembered the past week has probably been that tiresome for those candidates wanting to win a spot in the USC. I remembered those times when we would help our political alliance win. I remember being with orgmates and friends from STAND-UP losing sleep over making pins, preparing campaign materials, and guarding waiting sheds. But during those times, I had fun doing those stuff even if they were tiring.

I remember during one of the preliminaries when the alliance was still choosing the standard bearer, questions were thrown at the possible candidates. Our alliance was known as people who usually joined rallies, mobilizations, and protests on the streets. As part of preparing the candidates, one of the questions asked was, Why do you still have mobilizations on the increase of the price of fuel, tuition increase, and privatization (among many other issues)? The best answer I heard was: "Why should we stop? For you it may not be a big deal anymore because it is not new. Those issues have been around for years and we would still be continuing our campaigns because our cries have not yet been heard and because the issue is still there. If the issue were already solved, then maybe that would be the time that we would stop our chants and us going out in the streets."

That was pretty enlightening. Of course, we all have become deaf and blind because we would rather sit behind the comfort of our own homes and never think about what's happening to other people beyond those walls. And then we start to complain at how the way things are going. Or there are those who become apathetic because they currently have the right amount of finances to live well but they never did think about the future of their children if nothing is done now.

And when you come to think of it, at the end of the day, the issue is still there. And it's going to still be there until we do something to let those in position know that we do not like the situation and we want changes. Sometimes, we all just become too selfish that we don't care about the future. We just think that as long as we're living well right now, that'd be enough.