Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Anti-Pacman

As I was walking home last night after miserably missing my bus, I thought of the video game, Pacman and how at times life seems like one big Pacman game.


Think about it. Pacman's main goal is to eat all those pellets while successfully avoiding his enemies. Every now and then, Pacman gets lucky and swallows a super pellet that makes him invincible and ready to face his greatest fears. After some seconds, he loses his power and goes back to his routine of eating pellets and avoiding the ghosts. Surprisingly, after the last pellet is eaten, there is not much celebration, he just closes his mouth (for the first time), disintegrates and starts another round of pellet-eating.


All throughout this process, Pacman remains emotionless. He goes through game after game knowing he needs to eat fast, move fast and avoid all obstacles as best as he could. He is trapped in his little maze, overly concerned with his own goal and ghosts. His life is not even made up of one challenging maze after another. They are just the same mazes, only played at different points. He moves from maze to maze, never pausing, never thinking.


Yes, sometimes I am Pacman. I just move from crossroad to crossroad. I just deal with life as fast as I can and do things as required. I trap myself in my own world and forget of what happens outside of it. I work hard to accomplish my goals but when I do I don't take time to enjoy the moment. Instead, I face another challenge as if life's milestones were supposed to be defined only by the hardships we have surpassed.


In every person's life though, there exists a Pacman anti-type. In my life it's Amanda. :)




Guess who Amanda is? :)



Amanda and I became very good friends back in high school. As luck would have it, we would also spend a considerable amount of time together in college. I have always enjoyed spending time with Amanda. She is one of those people who are just capable of enjoying life, loving people and appreciating life's little blessings. :)


I remember back in high school, when no one else seriously believed in my leadership potential, Amanda was one of those who did. Back then, since I was a new student, I did not have much friends, but Amanda readily welcomed me as part of her circle of friends. We did so much stuff together -- cramming for exams, visiting each other's houses, watching movies and taking those cute sticker photos -- but what really sticks out are our two trips to Baguio where our friendship was silently sealed. :)


Amanda has a very warm heart and she generally sees the good in people. She is very humble and treats everyone as cordially as she could. At high school, she had more wisdom than anyone else because she never really overly focused on the numbers but on the process of learning. In effect, she really got excellent grades. Until now, she remains to be a free-spirit willing to explore different parts of the world, enjoying as much as she can yet still accomplishing something. :)


I really miss Amanda and her smile. She is one of those people who will always be dear to me because she welcomed me when not everyone would and not once has she closed her doors on me.


To Amanda, I really miss you. Advanced happy birthday! Hope Singapore is treating you well. :)



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To whomever will be the 2000th official hitter of this blog, please tell me. :) Hehe. Thanks to Cyrus, Regina, Ali, Kreta, Saba, Elli, Geraldine and Anisha. Special thanks once again to Janne for putting my head together. Big huge thanks to Andrigo for saving me last night. I seriously would not have known what to do without you. Kiitos to Jani for signing my papers for the visa. Shout out also to my sister for all the help with the business. :)

Posted by Erica Cleofe at 20:20

4 comments:

  1. Blogger ali on October 05, 2006 2:23 AM

    I just re-realized the obvious after reading this post...
    YOU'RE ONE HEAVEN (not hell) OF A WRITER...!!!

    I was actually imagining how amazing Amanda is while reading your post..your words somehow sneak in to my brain..hehehe

    ..and to Amanda, if you're reading this, Happy Birthday (in advanceed is it?)to you too dear.. :-)

    smiling,
    ali

  2. Anonymous carmela on October 05, 2006 9:56 AM

    hi ekay! =)

    glad to know you're having a blast. =)

    i've been reading your blog to start off my day with a smile. your entries are so warm and inspiring. keep it up! =)

    hope to see you when you get back here. =)

    carmela

  3. Anonymous Amanda on October 05, 2006 5:56 PM

    Ekay!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Thanks for the super wonderful message! Wow, what a grreat birthday gift this is :) You put a smile on my face :)

    I miss the time we spent together when we were in high school and college....thank you for all the times when you were there for me....I don't know if you still remember but the day when I went to your house when I had a really really big problem and you were just there listening to me, comforting me, making me watch Friends (haha) made a big difference in my life. :) I have never told you this but I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

    I hope you are finding peace and contentment wherever you are. I will see you soon!

    Take care.

    Love,
    Manda

    p.s. Dear Ali, thanks for the birthday greeting :) Have a wonderful day ahead of you!

  4. Blogger Erica Cleofe on October 05, 2006 11:21 PM

    Hey Ali and Carmela,

    Thanks for the nice comments. :) You made me happier because I was almost having a bad day.

    Amanda,

    Yeah I remember that day. :) I remember we slept in my sister's room and blah, blah. :)

    Hugs,
    Erica

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