Prayer time.

How often do you pray? A question I have been asked about.

My creative juices are squeezed tonight.. and since I can't sleep.. might as well write a story again.

It was around this time of the year.. two years ago.. a month after college graduation.

I was in Cebu City, Philippines studying for the Physical Therapy Board Exam.. for us to be licensed in the Philippines. In short, the exam that we need to pass that will determine our future.

It was those times where I was the most prayerful.

I read like four daily breads a day.

It was probably because of the pressure that I needed to pass that exam.

That I want to achieve something good in my life that I could honestly call my own.

A title at the end of my last name.

Every night, I would wait until my room mates went to sleep and then I would step outside and sit under a very large kalachuchi tree. I would talk to God. I would sit and hug both of my knees. And mumble a prayer in the darkness.

I was not scared. Despite the crazy stories of my classmates that they saw something white.

A couple of times, people who rented a room on the second floor who works at night..would tap me at my back and ask if I was okay, or if I was crying. Just 30 minutes or an hour of being at peace in His presence, takes all the pressure and the tiredness from that day.

It was a physical, mental, emotional and psychological battle for all of us. Physical, having only 4 hours of sleep a day and plus the fact that the food were awful. Mental, having 8 hours of compressed lectures in a day, we were always overloaded with informations. Emotional, being away from home and loved ones. Skype, wifi and unlimited calls were not so famous back then. Some even vomited and got sick a week before the exam date. And Psychological, because everything had been altered from the norm.. We were not in our comfort zone.

Mostly, I prayed for good health for me and my classmates, for the safety of my family back home, for courage to finish that race triumphantly. For the results to be good for my classmates as well. For world peace. For a good weather. Always thanking for the unending blessing. And acknowledging God that I couldn't have done this on my own.

It was such a wonderful time of my life, the one that I would never ever forget. It was my first shot at Independence. And I did pretty good. Anyways, I passed that thing. Having a trouble getting my American License though. But I just know all will collide, in God's perfect time.

How often do I pray?

I'd still say a lot.

But not the way I used to.

I wish there was a big tree outside of our house right now.

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on some other news:

- Rome Masters next week.. on the road to French Open 2010 on May 23! I hope this will be a year for Novak Djokovic to win a Grandslam.

- The Final Hours of 24 tomorrow: the 17th hour. I'll miss Jack Bauer. :-(

- Gallinero clan had a grand reunion. sources told me that almost 1000 people came and that there was a motorcade with 50+ cars. I'm so bummed I've missed all the fun.

- my cellphone's been missing for the past 5 days. :-(

- A friend is having a thyroid surgery this week. God bless her.

- It's ng Emineh's 9th day after she passed away. I know she's in a better place.

- Advance happy birthday to the most beautiful woman in the world, my MOM.