I have a Yaya

I've known Mau since... elementary! (OMG! You're so old!... To which you say: NAGSALITA!)

I think I used to swap pocketbooks with her then. We were part of the Sweet Valley Twins craze; when the girls in class strove to be an Elizabeth but deep down dreamt of being a Jessica. There would be new books coming out every month and the entire 7th grade was a race to complete the series.

(Speaking of book swaps, you still have my "Chasing Harry Winston" and I still have your "Catcher In The Rye." I think I win in that swap.)

Then it was High School and the pocket books played second fiddle to the boy bands. They came one after the other back then, didn't they? Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Code Red, 911... Watching MTV was our daily afternoon habit, Mau's and I. We would tune in soon as we got home from school, ring each other up on the telly and scream to our heart's content whenever Shane Lynch's pretty face froze on air. It was insane! I think she was the only friend who got as fantardic as me. When everyone was into Limp Bizkit and Prodigy, we were belting it out to the tune of "Isn't it a wonder."

(Pause for a moment... Imagine Ronan Keating in his sleeveless white shirt... *sigh* ... and go.)

College came and went, then we started our careers. She ended up being part of Trend, as an anti-virus engineer no less. While I hopped in and out of jobs. One of my job hops led me to working in Eastwood, just a building away from Trend's office and suddenly we had an excuse to spend nearly every lunch break together. It was high school all over again! And that was when our term of endearment, "Yaya" was coined. Put to fame by Michael V. and Oggie Alcasid's "Yaya and Angelina" skits in Bubble Gang, we adopted the term to insult one another as we vied for the heart of  Danny O'Donoghue. (Who incidentally was part of an Irish boyband back in the 90's! I swear! Yaya found a video of him dancing away on youtube. Yaya, get me that link!)

Then I resigned. Eastwood must've been so bleak without our daily lunchies.

Now, Yaya and I lead completely different lives. I basically have none other than my job in the "surely-#3" network of the country. While she has moved to Ireland to get the wheels of "The Script Entrapment" masterplan going.

We don't get to "petiks" on YM as often as we used to (She discovered taboo on the web and we would play like crazy during office hours. Haha!) but there are days when it seems like she's still just a building away. Apparently, distance means nothing to us.

She's one of my bestest, dearest friends in the world and I would do anything for her.  Except give up money because she has more of it than I do. Haha!

And today's her birthday!!!!! (Woot woot! Parteih!)

So, to my yaya, I dedicate this song. Yaya, I love you. You are a rock in my world and I've never been more grateful to have you in my life. *HUGS* Hope my hugs warm you all the way from Manila!