K, let's do some Jeopardy here.
1) When you can date someone half your age without breaking the law.
2) When almost everything hurts and what doesn't hurt doesn't work, either.
3) When your fav rock band is featured on MTV Classic.
4) When you write this kind of entry.

And the correct question is...

...How do you know age is catching up with you?

A few nights ago we were talking about having a reunion. How fun it would be to see people you first met ten years ago. How we should go to Puncak and re-live our crazy days. Then someone pointed out that while it would be cool to spend the night there, some of the spouses might not be so thrilled. Not to mention it wouldn't be too practical because some of us would bring their kids along. Kids! Some of the guys even have 2 of them.

How do I know age is catching up with me, indeed. When on my school's mailing list people start discussing brands of baby milk or how expensive it is to get a joint passport for their kids. It just makes me look back at what I have done in the last 10 years or so. At least those friends of mine have their own families to show for it.

Admittedly, where I am now is not really what I had in mind some 5-10 years ago. At late 20s I don't really have notable achievements, never mind what I wrote in my résumé -- which, BTW, can be downloaded at... nah, better not. I'm not an athlete representing my country in the Olympics. Nor am I a rock star with girls screaming everywhere I go. Nor am I one of the youngest CTOs in Asia.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not sorry for all I've done. I am happy with who I am. Can be better, but hey, you don't hear me complaining. It's just that at times like this people tend to reflect on how time flies. One moment you're happy to find your first internet friend. The next moment 90% of the time you spend in front of puter is for work. One afternoon you tell your buddy how you'd die to be able to date one -- or two -- of those popular gals at school. The next? You make a comment to the same buddy how today's teenagers outgrow their age and refer to them as ABG.

Whoa, late 20s! And I still remember how I teased my sis when she said she was in her early 20s while in reality she was almost 25. Of course, I myself was only 22 then. Am I old or what! Maybe I should re-consider going to that Linkin Park concert. Then again, maybe I shouldn't, since I've paid for the ticket. Which reminds me, I have 20 days to memorize the lyrics. Better run that KaZaA and start downloading.

Back to the philosopher in me. So where have all those years gone? Have I got anything out of 'em? Or have I been simply fast-forwarding from Mondays to Fridays, paying little attention to anything in between? I guess a bit of both. After all I'm still sane after all things those clients threw at me. I'm still able to cover 5 kilometers in 30 minutes. And while it's true I know 'new' hit songs only after the kids on the block -- hey, is that a shout-out or what -- started singing 'em six months ago, I still can tell that Maroon 5 is a band and not Voltus 5's latest successor.

So yeah, I'm happy. Things might have sped around me and I might have only a handful of memories from the last few years, but I don't really mind as long as the final product -- what I am now -- is found to be satisfactory. Be result-oriented. After all, if catfish is delicious, who cares what it eats? Wherever my twenties have gone, apparently to places not so bad. All's good, then.

Finally, I'd like to say that it was just as well that I found out just in time -- only weeks ago -- that American Idol was a singing competition and not a contest for multi-talented, do-everything, looking-hot people. Otherwise I would've been shocked to see the winner. All right, I'm sorry, Fantasia -- are you from Disney, BTW?