everything’s calmer now but i’m still trying to grasp the magnitude of all this. i thank everyone who cared to take my hand during those times when i needed it. words are not enough to express my gratitude as some of you may be expecting a grand thanksgiving party. a little fyi: I AM CURRENTLY UNEMPLOYED and a grand thanksgiving party may have to wait until i can find a job that would pay me enough to feed you all. so that would be, uh, never? haha. i’ll call you though should anything come up. just don’t expect something to come up too soon :p and besides, they say that you never really know who your true friends are until you’re down and broke. i don’t know how true that statement is. now’s the best time to find out…

of course, my greatest gratitude would always go to The Craftsmaker (as i like to call Him) for listening to my prayers. Topping the exam is just icing on the cupcake. i’m trying to find some spiritual meaning in all this and have come to realize that contrary to what i’ve always believed, i actually have a purpose in life. like, a real one. i was born to be unemployed after all! :p

my family, extending to my relatives and even far more distant ones, including my dead ancestors. even if their bones have long since turned to dust, i carry their name. their silent legacy. i am merely a continuation of the life they held, except that i’m typing my words of gratitude in multiply right now instead of writing them on leaves.

my dad, for being my mentor and my favorite consultant. his are the advices i take to heart. and i’m thankful for his support when i told him i was decided to surrender my June 2006 license (with a really ugly picture of me) and take a shot at June 2007, start anew. (hopefully, i would look better on my license picture this time.) nevermind if he suddenly had second thoughts upon seeing the very serious waiver i drafted for legal purposes. oh, and i’m thankful that he drove me to the testing area those two days. it was a big help even if i was late the first day of the exam and the people were already filling up the damn forms when i arrived. (i blame all that to our proctor’s ultra-advanced watch so no words of gratitiude for her.)

my mom, for bothering to wake up early and cook me something to eat, though as i’ve probably said, i’m not a breakfast eater but i had breakfast that day anyway. always have breakfast on “big” days. and for goodness’ sake, be there on time.

my older sis, for subtly suggesting that should i take the exam on december as planned, i would be unemployed for the longest time ever. that led me to screw my well-thought plans and go for june, come what may. 22 days after taking my NCLEX. barely a month of preparation. subtract that with the number of hours per day i wasted by watching Prisonbreak nonstop with my younger sis. (wentworth miller is so worth it!)

to ramrodz, simply for being there — looking for my name amidst a sea of names posted in PRC under the cruel heat of the June sun; getting lost with me as we searched for my assigned room in UC; being careful not to get upset when i realized i was dumb enough to copy every single detail of my room assignment except for my room number and i realized that only after the unintended tour of all of UC’s buildings; climbing 114 steps up to the 6th floor just to bring me lunch on the first day of the exam; listening to me rant on and on about how stupid the exam was since i swear to god i really had a tough time answering them — for everything. he was there and i appreciate everything. hard-core appreciation, dude. you know i’m always grateful to have you around, either to ground me or uplift me, depending on my twisted moods.

my cousin ruth, who, up until the 13th of august i never expected to possess a few insightful thoughts by sharing an inspirational quote which touched my heart right into its endocardium. i was pretty depressed then since i was pretty sure i had every chance of failing and she was telling me that i shouldn’t be so negative about it. “you’re just wasting the prayers of the people who prayed for you.” and she was right. damn right, she was. gawd, ruth, when the hell did you mature?! :p

the schizos, for the wonderful friendship — girly, yen2, gayle, romy, shirley, & jane. i would like to single out yen2 ‘coz she’s really a big help in almost everything that concerns education and academics. (aren’t they the same thing?) i’m so thankful for all the help, yen. seriously.

to everybody — you know who you are and what you did. thank you so so so much and may God bless you all! 🙂