MANILA, Philippines - There comes a time in the life of the single young professional when he must exercise his freedom. His freedom to watch whatever TV show he wants to watch without debate. His freedom to leave and come home any time he chooses without needing excuses. And his freedom to use the bathroom as long as he needs to without someone banging on the door for you to evacuate (both figuratively and literally).
So perhaps, my fellow yuppies (yes, I call you fellow yuppies as long as I have a full head of jet-black hair), you may want to reconsider the comforts that you currently enjoy at home with your family (and quite possibly, your grandparents, the single tito or tita, and the cousins from the province), especially if living at home is too close for comfort.
If you have grown too complacent with your creature comforts at home, here are some signs that living at home may be more creature than comfort:
1. Baby you can drive my car – Remember that brand new car that you bought through a company loan that you wanted to use for picking up girls? You’ve been picking up girls, all right. You’ve been picking up your mom from the parlor, your sister from school and your yaya from the grocery.
2. Baby, baby, baby oh – That ultrasonic Internet connection that you are helping to subsidize? It’s moving slower than after- work traffic on EDSA because your sister is downloading the latest Justin Bieber video while your kuya is downloading content of questionable repute.
3. It’s getting hot in here - During the summer season, you have already manhid to the idea of everybody walking around in their underwear. Although the image of your lola in her underwear did cause you to seek psychiatric help.
4. It’s what inside that counts – You have to monogram your underwear so yaya won’t mix up what belongs to you, to kuya, to dad and to lolo (can’t you tell which underwear belong to whom by the size of the, er, waistline, yaya!?)
5. Drama king – Despite investing in the new cable provider that has over 5,472 channels, the only thing that you can watch during primetime on the family TV are the local telenovelas, lest you incur the wrath of your sister, your mom, your lola. And your yaya.
6. Relax, don’t do it – As you de-stress reading a book in your living room, you are dealing with your mom who is getting a mani/pedi, you sister who is tsis-mising away on Facetime with her barkada and your dad is watching the news in his underwear.
7. Splish splash, I was taking a bath –Your stay in the banyo in the morning is strictly timed by an alarm clock. If you exceed even one second on the alarm clock, you have to finish your shower in the kitchen sink.
8. Me, myself and I – Your only “me” time is sometime in the wee hours of the morning while doing legitimate, church-approved things in the banyo (which could be banyo or non-banyo related) to retain your sanity.
9. I wanna get close to you – The one time that you took your girlfriend back to your place for some “private time” after a romantic date? After a few seconds of MOMOL (look it up in Google), the living room suddenly switches on and, lo and behold, there is your mom watching you from the living room couch. While yaya was watching you from the banyo.
10. In the middle of the night – When coincidentally you, your brother and your dad all have to empty your bladders in the middle of the night. Into the same toilet bowl. At the same time. Pray that their aim is good.
As you try to lobotomize all those images from your head, it might be more productive if you start doing the more adult thing. No, no, no, it is not that. It is not to let go of your yaya. It is time for you to move into a condominium unit that is all your own.
Yes, my fellow yuppie, it is time to expand your horizons without having to overly expand your wallet. And what‘s the best place for a more financially upward-moving professional like you to spread your wings? Well, there are a lot of sleek, fancy-looking condominium advertisements out there that look like good places for you to roost. But before plunking down your hard-earned moolah for a condominium that you will be paying for over the next several years, you might want to consider these condo must-haves:
1. Free-flowing air and sunlight – Remember, you are not a mushroom. You need access to air and sunlight for you to thrive in your very own love nest.
2. Fewer units per floor – Riding the elevator to the basement parking of your building before going to work should not be a similar experience to riding the MRT. Fewer units per floor means fewer people using the elevators and other condominium amenities.
3. Sensible amenities – Yes, high-speed Wi-Fi in every inch of the condominium (including the elevator), valet parking for all residents and a waterfall in the communal swimming pool are all great amenities! But you may need to sell an extra body part to pay for the association dues. You need condominium developments that offer sensible amenities to balance practicality and enjoyment.
4. Emergency power even inside your unit - In case of a brownout, you don’t want to have to call your yaya to sleep over because you’re afraid of the dark. You want to live in a condominium that has emergency power not just in the common areas, but also inside your condominium where you can charge your phone, watch TV and be thankful that yaya does not have to cover.
And the most important condo must-have?
5. Easy payment terms— Look for a condominium development that is actually affordable especially for young people. Here’s a tip: Check out Avida Towers developments. Not only do they meet the checklist of the four condo must-haves but they also have the best payment terms in the industry (Really)!
Now, you can finally stay in the banyo as long as you want! And, okay, okay, your yaya can stay with you at Avida Towers as well.