my exams will begin in slightly more than 12 hours. and yet i can't help but recall how beautiful this sunday was. i know i told mervin that i was tired and it seems like all i do is run around on sundays. what happened to sunday afternoon siestas? but thinking back now and running through the snapshots in my mind of the day gone by, i'm happy. from the moment i woke up this morning to the time i went to bed (i'm typing this from my bed now), all i've done is spend time with people i love. here are some of the scenes that were etched in my heart throughout the day...

after morning mass, we headed over to my grandma's house to celebrate grandparent's day (pravin says its another excuse for hallmark to make money) and the twin's birthday (a very early celebration).

godmama eileen with her beautiful new-born baby girl, sarah-ann, in a deep, peaceful sleep. babies, the smallest, most fragile things...yet, kings and queens amongst us, served hand and foot, dawn till dusk, and dusk till dawn...

lil samuel marching around in my grandma's slippers like some very important person with a very important mission. like? he is!

some kinda jamming session going on. the father-and-son pair (jodhi and samuel) and raj attempt to wow us with their impromptu "emo" ruckus...

the ladies (my aunt on the left and my mom on the right) busy serving us cake. women; always the ones to get things going around here. haha.

my uncle, joe. he's the man. you can't help but smile (or laugh till you tear) listening to the funny things he does without even intending to be funny.

my grandma (amama). they made me do my emo thing today (refer to "shireen is emo" link on sidebar) and amama got a shock. she thought that i was really crying (i was actually acting all "emo" over some chocolate cake nonsense (i couldn't think of anything better to talk about on the spot) which i shan't bother to elaborate now). we had a good laugh about that.

we also celebrated the twin's 25th birthday. little samuel helped to blow the candles off. didn't we all just love to do that like it was the most important thing in the world when we were young? haha. i still do.

so after amama's, it was off to mervin's for my usual sunday afternoon visit. the only photo i took with him just now turned out like this...

i smiled too big and showed off my chubby cheeks. he looked like he was preparing to eat me up or something. well, whatever. haha. where does all that time go when i'm with you???

next up was sheryl's birthday party...on a boat! haha. she wanted to share with us one of the things she loved most, the experience of being out at sea. see, the day still went on. obviously no studying was done today.

so here's sheryl. 21, at last. she's making a wish that all those who came even though they had exams the next day would get A+ for all their papers this week (that's what she claims).

here's a group shot of all of us. well, i didn't really know anyone before i got on that boat. but somehow, we had a lovely time and some interesting conversations. food was great too! see, i look like i'm ready to pounce on the cake even.

one of my oldest, and best, friends. look, we're even coordinated in our dressing without planning to be. i've done some really adventurous and exciting things with sheryl in the course of my life since i met her. i love her!

here's a tired but excited shireen, steering back to shore (i just wanted to pose with it but the captain/chef ordered me to turn it to park the boat seeing that i was already there and in the way of his job. one of my dreams came through, alas, for a few seconds).

the day began with a prayer. dear god, the day looks long and tiring but i praise and thank you for it and i know you'll bring me through and make it all good. good? it was more than great! just before diving into the heat of exams, i'm reminded of the most important things in life. i don't want to forget.