Ding Dong

She hated watching movies from the back row...

She hated it when we were not seated at the first row...

She hated long lines...

She hated riding jeepneys,
preferring to wait forever for an FX taxi...

She hated sitting alone...

She hated my being late in a date...

She hated Tabasco...

She hated Vince Hizon...

She hated the ride to San Juan...

She hated our professor in Philosophy...

She hated math (I think, as much as I did)...

She hated her father (that's what I think)...

She hated the way some of her friends treated her...

She hated being alone at home...

She hated so many things.

And yet, despite all the things that she treated with spite, I think she never learned to hate me.

And I would remember her forever for that.

...and with that, I rest my case.

Ako: Bakit nandito ka ngayon? Wala ka bang pasok?

Pamangkin: Ayaw ko na pong pumasok?

Ako: Nyek! Bakit naman? Gugulpihin ka ng papa mo loko ka.

Pamangkin: Ayaw ko na po talaga. Gusto ko na lang maging boksingero parang si Pacquaio.

Ako: Haha! Iba pa rin nakapagtapos noh!

Pamangkin: Eh bakit ikaw? Sino mas mayaman sa inyo ni Pacquiao?

Ako: ..... ..... ..... ...... .....

Ako ulit: Bahala ka. Gulpihin ka talaga ni papa mo pag sinabi mo yan.

Pamangkin: Pag boksingero na ko di na kaya nya ko magugulpi!

All pigs go to heaven

Mas suwerte ako kumpara sa karamihan. Yan ang isa sa mga bagay na siguradong-sigurado ako. Yung ibang tao kasi, hindi nila alam kung saan sila pupunta pagkatapos ng buhay na ito. Hindi nila alam kung magiging ano sila pagtapos nilang malagutan ng hininga. Ako, pagbuga ko ng aking huling hininga, at pag ako ay na-reincarnate, natitiyak ko na ako ay magiging isang - baboy.

Masakit mang isipin, kailangan kong tanggapin na isa na kong baboy sa susunod na bahay. Yun ay bilang kaparusahan sa kakakain ko ng baboy sa buhay na ito. Nitong nakaraang dalawang buwan, madalas na lechon ang aking hapunan. Agahan ko naman ay kamto. Sa dami ng baboy na kinakain ko ngayon, mimura na ko ng Fairy Godmother ng mga baboy.

Ano na kaya ang kalagayan ng puso ko ngayon? Hirap na hirap na siguro siyang mag-pump ng dugo. Pero anong magagawa ko? The body is willing but the mind is weak.

Kahapon nga eh nangako ako sa sarili ko na puro gulay na lang kakainin ko. Kaso negative pa din eh. Kanina, pagdating ko galing sa hearing eh gutom na gutom ako. Ang oorderin ko nga sana sa baba eh yung ginataang gulay. Kaso, parang may kung anong hiwaga ang bumalot sa akin kanina. Parang na-magnet ako noong sinigang na baboy. Yun tuloy ang binili ko. Take note, kumuha pa ko ng kalahating lechon. Hindi ko talaga maintindihan kung bakit ganito ako ka-health concious.

Nag-iisip nga ako ng paraan kung pano malulutas ang problema ko na ito. Kung mag-muslim kasi ako, wala ding mangyayari. Malalabag ko lang ng paulit-ulit ang rule nila. Malamang eh mas lalo akong maging sureball sa impyerno pag nagkataon.

Di bale, simula sa araw na ito, nangagako ako na isang buwan akong walang ibang kakainin kundi gulay. As in gulay lang. At hindi ko na iisipin na gulay ang kanin.

Pero teka, bukas ko na lang simulan ang pagtupad diyan. Porkchop kasi ang niluto sa Tondo eh. Last na iyon.

LRT at MRT

Ilang buwan na din akong sumasakay ng LRT at MRT ngayon. Mas mabilis kasi saka hindi ako gaanong mukhang galing sa desyerto pag yun ang sinasakyan ko. Pera na lang talaga kung ang masakyan kung LRT o MRT eh walang aircon. Pag kasi ganon ang nasasakyan ko, pagdating ko sa office, parang galing ako sa pakikipag-meeting kay sa satanas sa impyerno.

Sa ilang buwan kong pagsakay sa railway system dito sa Pinas, wala pa talaga kong nararanasang byahe na nakaupo ako ng maayos. Palagi na lang akong nakikipagsiksikan. Kaya nga itong darating na kapaskuhan, ang wish ko lang eh sana makaupo man lang ako sa LRT sa buong byahe ko. Minsan nga, miski hindi ako bababa sa Baclaran, parang naiisip ko na bumaba na lang doon para man lang maranasan ko kung ano ang pakiramdam ng upuan ng LRT, bago man lang ako pumanaw.

Napakasikip kasi ng LRT. At walang exception dyan. Tapos, masikip na nga, pipilitin pang pumasok ng iba. Kaya higit pa talaga sa sardinas ang kakalabasan nyo. Kaya nga walang katotohanan yung sinasabi ng LRT operator na humawak daw sa handrails. Langya! Kahit hindi ka humawak hindi ka naman babagsak dun sa sobrang sikip eh. Kung ikaw ay isang ina, kahit magpadede ka ng sanggol sa LRT*, tapos bitawan mo yung sanggol na hawak mo, hindi malalaglag. Parang floating lang siya dun.

Sa MRT, in fairness, nakakatyempo din naman ako ng upuan. Lagi kasing sa Taft ang station ko na sinusimulan. Kaso, kahit bihira na nga lang akong makaupo, tyempong meron palaging matanda na sasakay. Pagsakay nya na paupuin ko siya. At siyempre, kagaya ng isang pangkaraniwang pinoy ngayon - nagkukunwari na lang akong tulog.

Pero ang kinaiinisan ko talaga dyan eh yung mga taong sumasalubong sa mga bumababa. Kahit hindi nila kamag-anak yung mga bumababa eh sinasalubong pa din nila. Noong isang linggo nga, dala na din ng buwisit ko, nasigawan ko yung mga sumasalubong sa akin habang pababa ako sa Guadalupe.

"SANDALI LANG!" -sabi ko. Tapos ginulpi na ko ng taong bayan.

*Hindi ko nirerekomendang gawin ninyo ito, sa dami ng manyakis na sumasakay sa LRT. Pero kung ako katabi nyo, po-protektahan ko kayo.

To be continued....

Faith has a funny way of leading you to where you ought to be. In the same manner, while it still baffles me as to how it can lead you to a particular person in the most unexpected place and time, I have come to believe that every person we met, we never meet by accident. One way or the other, faith had a hand on it. I do not aspire to understand the inner workings of faith. I have never been comfortable at aspiring for the things that are beyond my fallible mind. I am just happy to know that it led me to a particular person. That person, who became my treasured friend, is the subject of what I am writing now.

Truth be told, I promised that friend of mine that I will write her a letter. God knows how much I tried to write her one. In fact, several drafts are still stored in my computer. The problem is - those letters don’t seem to be worthy of sending. The dilemma is quite simple really; I can never the write a perfect letter that would fit the perfect friend. So, rather than spending an eternity writing drafts, I chose to play it safe. This, whatever you may want to call it, is the nearest thing to a letter that I could possibly write for my friend. I am fervently hoping that this will somehow convince her that I was able to fulfill my promise.

Somewhere between the boundary of the things that are likely and unlikely to happen, I met Gem. The first meeting was a casual one. A friendly introduction was followed by a friendly handshake. Nothing could be simpler. At that time, there was nothing that would even slightly suggest that that friendly handshake, that friendly hello, would spark a friendship that is incomparable to those which I had previously experienced. Never had I imagined that that person would teach me what it means to have a friend; more importantly, that person taught me what it means to be a friend to someone. For that lesson alone, I would forever be in debt. Because of that, I am ready to declare as a universal truth that – the simple, casual, unnoticeable moments in our lives, ultimately, leads us to the extraordinary moments.

Unlike most stories with a clear beginning, I cannot state with absolute certainty how Gem and I became close. I cannot remember the specific time when I started to trust her with my life’s secrets. I just know that I did. Anyway, who would not? There is no mystery in that. After all, she personifies everything that is worth trusting. I am not exaggerating when I say that I even trust her more that I trust myself. At the risk of sounding redundant, there is nothing incomprehensible with being able to trust a person like her. As to why she trusts me (well at least I think she does) – that is the mystery of all mysteries; a mystery that up to now, I am still trying to unravel.