Conflate.

This is my word of the day. And yes, never heard of the word either! hahaha

According to dictionary.com
conflate \kuhn-FLAYT\, transitive verb:1. To bring together; to fuse together; to join or meld.2. To combine (as two readings of a text) into one whole.

A union of sorts; to create a unison. Wow - I think I like union/fuse/unison better than conflate. I chanced on the word today as a 'reminder' that what I think and feel can actually "become".

And yes, it was in that philosophical context that I'm intrigued to re-check my life. Ahhh... I do this time and again - but lately, it's been happening more and more. I guess I miss my great friends from back home. (That last post I had with Missing Manila was edited to include the happenings we do then.)

I miss my HS friends - who always, always give me their unsolicited but loving advise. (Not that I need one right now as I think my life is great as it is). These people keep me grounded and because I can be anything from frank to quiet to hysterically happy to just plain sombre and not get misinterpreted.

I miss our tea-times or Starbucks-hangout time, or Malate/Greenbelt/Libis gimmick time or plain visit to A's house in SAV just to chill.

All of us are all over the map. Almina is in Boston, Angelica in NY, Joy F in Chicago, Garry & Ern in SF, and everyone else is in Manila. My, we have, 'matured' because Rachel is making sure that her girls get to their karate all the time (on time) while managing their kiosk in UAP (it used to be CRC, lol - I forgot it's current name); Tess makes sure that J and she are on schedule with their freelance work (both are in media); JI, our VP in Accountancy makes sure that he looks after his mom after his dad passed away; George, Allan, Dennis, Roland - ohhh - I'm sure someone is keeping them preoccupied - be it about their Malate gig or work or pleasure. I miss them. Sorely. :( Before, all we need to do is send a text brigade and zero in on a date - usually a Saturday so we can connect. Now, it's just email - but it's not the same. :(

Then, my MTED friends. Dang I miss them. Lately, I've been hitting some grounds where I'm constantly reminded of Von's words of wisdom, Jane's antics and awesome 1-liners, Audee's hirit that can send us all crying with laugher, Ces's awesome sisterly gestures to Ivan's sharing and/or asking of confidential matters.

Friends - their several different personalities, attitudes, values - CONFLATE into our very being. We sometimes act, speak, think like them. And, these times, I miss them all. I miss our verbal, intellectual, emotional sparring. I miss the laughs, the times when we plan stuff, hang out.

In this big place that I'm in - I have yet to find someone who I can definitely relate with. I guess wavelenghts are created such that it only reaches certain people. I miss my people. I surely wish there's others here that I can personally share great friendship with.