quality [kwol-i-tee]
an essential or distinctive characteristic, property, or attribute; high grade; superiority; excellence
Synonyms include: attribute, essence, caliber, excellence

I have an article due in 2 days so you know what that means…time to blog! Hahaha! I haven’t written anything in over a week so I’m not even going to pretend like I can just sit down and 350 words of fine writing will naturally flow from my head to my fingers to the blank Microsoft word document before me. This is my 3rd assignment for our company newsletter (appropriately titled @SAGE) and I have yet to complete an article with ample time to spare. It’s okay. That’s what editors are for. =) Oh the life of a procrastinating writer – a procrastiwriter…

But I do actually have something to put out there for public perusal. This last year, I’ve really come to appreciate something that has gotten rarer as I’ve gotten older and I can’t get enough of it – quality time with people. For me, time is time; you can’t go back to relive it, you can’t go forward in it and there always seems to either be too much or too little of it. I feel like each day brings about constant reminders that we should all be embracing each moment as if we were to die tomorrow. I don’t think people fear the actual state of death so much as they fear leaving their lives behind; going on a journey and never coming back to the people and places you spent a lifetime loving. That’s why each moment I get to spend with the people I cherish most has become a most valuable treasure.

Whether it’s an entire family reunion week with the Bautistas…one crazy Christmas eve with the Gondas…2 weeks in Europe or 4 days in NYC…a night at the opera with Leia that turned into a gabfest that lasted until 2:30 am…or a quiet night at Isa & Nick’s watching tv and catching up…or acting like kids at Speedzone, cheering each other on during games like “Flamin’ Finger” (Iya, you’re crazy! Hahaha!)….dinner with Bobbers talking about wedding showers and other stuff…a night on a boat dancing and drinking to celebrate Ate Cyn & Gary…watching a midnight showing of Pirates with some real troopers!...lunchtime with Jovi and Eddie, eating and talking about nothing...a random Wednesday night dinner at Max’s with Cile and James that lasted all but 45 minutes… hanging out with Andrew in Pasadena and then talking all night like we used to in college…spending an entire Saturday shopping, talking and eating with Ate Tin and Annie…paying Riann a quick visit before she has to go to work…IMing with or talking on the phone to people who I don’t get to see or speak to often…having dinner with my sister and my dad while our caretaker (Mom, hahaha!) is away…sitting next to my grandparents, aunts and uncle during mass…

Oh this list goes on. I guess I’ve started to appreciate the fact that any time is quality time when you’re spending it with quality people, and I have been so blessed.