It wouldn’t have worked out anyway. The Noche Buena, I mean, because I’m a (semi)vegan and breaking my six-month-no-meat-diet-well-at-least-picking-them-out-my-meal is not an option.

So really, I think it’s a blessing in disguise that I was too stubborn to go home during the Holidays. And did I mention the year-long holiday weight I am going to gain in a week? Nnnooo. Never will I undergo that state again. And so, I spent my first Christmas away from home the best possible way I could muster, and that is pondering.

Dec 24

I had work. Apart from sulking on Twitter how I wanted to spend that day alone and chill for a moment, I knew I didn’t have anything better to do but to work anyway. So I wore my red sinh and my red cardigan as sign that it’s Christmas! It was a busy day, you know, we went out and shot some hotels for the company. Then I changed my mind for the nth time and decided to celebrate Christmas Eve the Lao way –a night-out with friends, that is.

We dined-in at Kong View, one of my favorite restuarants in Vientiane. Good food, nice ambience, twinkling lights and the cool Mekong breeze, it’s a romantic place. We had our usual Lao food, ordered the usual drinks, listened to the same band. It wasn’t Christmas-sy, but at least I wasn’t burning my couch at home watching lame-o Christmas movies and finishing a whole pizza, which was my first plan.

After Kong View, we went straight to Romeo. Ah notorious Romeo. I didn’t get drunk ,by the way, but my feet were killing me because of my 4-inch pumps.

Dec 25

And just like after a full feast with fun and laughter back home, I slept until the afternoon on Christmas day. Confessions of a Shopaholic was on when I woke up, however, cable interruptions plagued my enjoyment. I decided to get pizza but apparently, my favorite pizza place was closed. Oh, just great. I went straight to the supermarket, found out that my favorite brand of chips (Filipino brand!) is available here, I went to get some Bibimbap from one Korean resto and watched a Christmas movie on HBO.

While my friends are out for the night again, partying.

Dec 26

I woke up early given the fact that I was snoozing most of the time on Christmas day. I turned to my TV and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging was on. My friend back home was raving about this movie –and she had all the right to do so. This is how I fall in love with movies. Simple plot, witty lines, relatable characters and a natural set.

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging is a film adaptation of two novels, Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging and It’s OK, I’m Wearing Really Big Knickers by an English author, Louise Rennison. It’s a coming-of-age story of 14-year-old Georgia Nicolson in her quest in finding the perfect boyfriend and holding the biggest birthday bash. Insecurities, boy-related questions and issues, friend troubles and family concerns, the movie circles around growing-up pains and finally gaining self-esteem after all the drama: Result!

Now I’m Thinking..

Christmas weekend away from home, I realized that I wanted to make this a tradition. Every year, I will be spending my Christmas Eve in a different place and just see how they celebrate it, write about it. Of course, that’s going to require a lot of money, but I’ll never know where I’ll end up anyway, cos I’m transient like that.

Second realization, after watching Georgia Nicolson’s story, I missed my childhood by trying to grow up so fast. When I was 14, all I can think about was college and life after that. How I wanted to drive and skipping the bicycle-part. How I thought being single was cool and sassy, so I wanted to be one. And now that I’m 22, I feel that I want to go back to being 14 and take everything a little slower than before.

Third and final realization, there’s the immediate calling for getting over some…situations. 2011 is just a week away and I believe everyone deserves a fresh start. And I mean, everyone. Mina (bestie) and I also already made a pact for the New Year that we are changing our lifestyle. It would be a hard process, definitely, but then again nothing’s ever easy. Just like Georgia, after getting snogged by the boy she likes and that boy didn’t call, falling apart with her bestie, and the impending plans of moving out to New Zealand, she decided to have a soul makeover. She felt better after and everything just fell into place. I know, I know, it’s just fiction. But really, I think some of us can relate to that story at one point in our lives. And there’s no harm in trying to change something, especially if it’s for something to uplift your spirits.