i never minded people asking me my age, until now. i feel awkward telling people my age because i feel like it makes me look stupid ( my age, i mean ). around me, friends who are twenty three are already in their second year at grad school. and to think that at the same age i'll only be graduating with my first degree is... unbearable, and a bit depressing. so i now resort to not revealing my age to people who don't know it. but friends ( or acquaintances ) always assume that i'm a year or two younger than i really am, because i always act childishly. however, people i've just met ( or strangers ) always think i'm older than i really am because i look so. unless if they have only been talking to me over the phone, then they'll think i'm nine years old. whatever, but i'm not telling people my age anymore. just called home and spent almost two hours talking to my parents, abe yie and the two little ones. last year i ended up spending almost four hundred bucks on phone cards, and i've a feeling this year it's gonna be more. and to think how i used to wonder how chali spent hundreds calling home. it's so easy to without realizing it.