www.Ben-Mauss.com

the best birthday gift ever

some weeks ago my friends mentioned that we should and would celebrate it.
i exhaled through my mouth and gave a slight nod.

i haven't celebrated my birthday in 21 years. not the way i wanted to i mean.
there were family dinners and joined celebrations with my friends, i've been happy bout those.
yet, i'd want it this time to be different.
i'm also dreading the number 34 so i've decided to celebrate it as my 35th.
next year if i get to celebrate my birthday again, i'd still, be 35, right?

so this week i sent sms to people to come and join me in my farewell (moving out back to the plains of bulacan and manila) and birth anniversary. different.

well, it's potluck as i have been advised and as i too have consulted my guests if that would be all right - plus bring your own poison and the time was set. yes, not really the norm but what with the economy and everything as it is.

then my elder brother, paolo sent me an sms this morning. i just woke up. stopped in my tracks and almost choked with anxiety, utter joy and stupefaction all at the same time.

check out your new website the text read. i've had a team make me one but i had been having trouble with that one and i had to be content with my ben-mauss blogspot (to which i am also greatly appreciative of)

as of this moment , i am at hotshots eating my fish burger and waiting for my website to flash in as the connection is crawling in a snail space. bit by bit the site was being constructed right before my eyes. first, the texts and white blank spaces border in black. then, the buttons appeared and, finally, the images filled the blank white spaces with products' images that have been uploaded in the website.

i am so grateful for all those invisible hands that laboriously, patiently and silently worked for the completion of such a gift as this.

Now, I thank God that he didn't randomly throw people into our lives but had hand picked them for our well-being, happiness and to gift us with such love.

i only have a short time to write about this. my fish burger got a little more dash of liquid saltiness added to it.

for my dedicated, loyal and wonderful brothers, paolo, aaron, carlo and to my sister (in-law),carla
thank you so much. ditto for myra carlo's girlfriend

i love you all.
thank you so much for such a wonderful birthday. and some people beat me to celebrating my brithday the way that it should be - Thankful!

my mom and son joshua are coming up to baguio to join me tomorrow. dad said he could only call but had wanted to come and if i did not have my own party to attend i'd be joining him instead.