thoughts of being roommates

shared by Raisl Sharon R. Cruz, her cousin

"Getting ready to go out clubbing is already half the fun of going out." - Cindy

Though we never really made it out of the house that night, we had fun getting made up, trying on clothes, and giggling like little girls. For some reason, we just decided to stay home and dissect each and every part of the movie Clueless for her school project. That movie always reminds me of Cindy.

There's a lot of things that remind me of Cindy. I had the great privilege of being her roommate for about 5 months at Marlo and Andrew's home in Culver City. Being a newbie here in America at that time, she taught me a lot on how to be a little Americanized. Every now and then, I would remember bits and pieces of what me and Cindy talked about in those 5 months:

- We talked about how a long distance relationship sucks!  You can't date anybody else coz you are already committed, and yet, you can't ask your boyfriend to drive you somewhere coz he's a million miles away.

- She laughed whenever I say "ref" instead of "fridge." She said I sound so weird.

- We both agreed to learn how to snowboard. I really did try to learn. After she died, I took 3 snowboarding lessons already. I just can't seem to grasp the concept. I learned how to ski though, and I would like to think that skiing will take the place of what we've agreed on. As a side note, as soon as I was gliding down the slope, I said to myself - “Cindy, look at me, I'm skiing!"

- She made me read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. When it became a movie in 2005, I just had to watch it.

Those are just a few things. The most important of them all is how she made me feel so welcomed and so loved. She even took care of me when I was sick, made me drink tea with honey and lemon. A five month period may be a short time to get to know a person, but I strongly believe that it's not the length of time, but instead the quality of those times spent with each other. She inspired me a whole lot, most especially to be caring and to be sincere to the people that really matter.

Cindy, I love you and I miss you. And....oh yeah, I still wear the red and white PJs you gave me 7 Christmases ago.