Top 5: Birthday resolutions

1. Exercise more! Shave at least 3 inches off my waist in time for my wedding.

2. Improve my Mandarin. Say what you want, but this will be the lingua franca of the millennium. I have Pinoy officemates who are studying the language! Nakakahiya pag ako pa yung mahuli.

3. Reduce my tendency to converse in Taglish. I've been doing a lot of interviews for work this past month, and have been spending an equally big amount of time transcribing these interviews. I cringe everytime I hear myself on tape, because I realize that I tend to speak in a lot of Taglish. "Ilan po ang difference between so-and-so" or "How much ang kinikita ninyo sa isang araw?" How embarrassing. As a start, I've told Eric to scold me everytime I say "Wait lang." It should either be just "Wait" or "Sandali lang." It may be a small step, but it's a step nonetheless. And in relation...

4. Improve my Tagalog. Eric always tells me he can't believe I studied at UP because my Tagalog vocabulary is so limited. Case in point: I only learned what "mangas" meant a few years back (when I was being measured for a bridesmaid's gown and the designer asked me if I wanted "mangas" and I, having no idea what that was, said "Kayo nalang po bahala"). So maybe Tagalog won't be the lingua franca of world commerce anytime soon, but I believe it's important I be able to converse sensibly in my country.

5. Complain less, act more. Especially at work. I have a lot of frustrations and tend to gripe a lot at work, but I was always hesitant to do something concrete to solve them because I was afraid I would look shallow, sensitive or prissy (not to mention possibly get fired). But there was this one time wherein I actually stood up for myself and the results were surprisingly favorable. So now I'm a bit more confident, and I just hope my good karma doesn't run out.

Wish me luck!