Vday Dialogues

Me: I'm going out with Lianne tonight.
Dad: Ok. Where are you going?
Me: Not sure yet.
Dad: Ok. Um... You be careful tonight, ha. Don't get carried away.
Me: What?! How malicious! This is a strictly plutonic thing... it's as if we're going to do anything funny. Lianne is my friend for goodness sake!
Dad: Well, you never know. That's what they all say.... basta, just be careful.
Me: Whatever.

* * *
Mom: So, do you have plans for tonight?
Me: Um, yeah. I'm going out.
Mom: Who's your date?
Me: Lianne.
Mom: Ok. Where are you taking her.
Me: Um... I don't know yet. Bahala na.
Mom: Who else is going with you?
Me: No one else.
Mom: You mean it's just the 2 of you?
Me: Yep.
Mom: Are you courting Lianne ba?
Me: What?! No!
Mom: Then why are you going out?
Me: Da, si Ma o! How malicious!!!

Haay. I don't think parents (or a lot of people for that matter) will ever understand the simplicity in a plutonic relationship.

* * *

Vday Mismo

D-Day is Vday and it has come again. It was another one of those days when I wished that there were more minutes in an hour, or more hours in a day. Whichever way. I ust wished for more time.

I had planned a very shallow day. Go to school, after class be Uappy to give out chocolates, go to the gym and go home. At night, get ready for a date and have fun. Plain and simple.

Unfortunately, the travails of a people person and living serendipitously act on me again. I find myself running all over Metro Manila AND suddenly being in possession of 2 front row tickets to Boyz II Men.

Oh, I just have to share that while getting ready for school, I open my closet and find only 2 wearable shirts. One red and one black. I think: If I wear red, I'd look cheesy. If I wear black, I'd look bitter. I then settle for a grubby, gray shirt.

My day starts out just as I have planned. I go to class and after that I suit up to be Uappy.

All this time, my friend El starts having problems with the sponsorships of Daredevil and is already on breaking point.

My Uappy stint is fun and fine as usual. I think I have found another calling in life.

After my stint, I run all over Metro Manila with El who is trying to fix the money problem of Daredevil. We get from Ortigas Center (the Warner office) all the way to Paranaque.

I get back at 4:00 looking for LJ since I'm supposed to get the dozen roses I ordered for my mom from her. By this time, I am practically delirious since I haven't eaten lunch yet.

I stalk her at her Educ class and practically barge in when she's done. Apparently, my roses haven't arrived yet. So much for leaving school at 4:30 to beat the Valentine's Day traffic.

I get my roses at 5:15 pm and immediately get the hell out of school. Traffic looks evil and I need to be at The Fort by 8:30. It takes me 2 hours to get home.

I am in the house for 30 minutes, including a 5 minute bath. No small feat since I shower for around an hour, give or take.

And then I am off to my disaster called a Valentine's Day Date.

Marathon

Up until Valentine's day,plans were to watch the chorale concert in school and have dinner in some place nice. A far cry from Boyz II Men.

Of course, I only told Li about Boyz II Men on the day itself and she was short of shocked. And happy. And touched.

Because of the traffic, we agree to meet at The Fort. Traffic in the Fort is hellish. There is gridlock all over the place. On the other side, Li leaves the house at 7 since she is only a 10 minute drive away. She is caught in traffic for 2 hours and a half.

I arrive at 9:30. Things are in full swing. Surprisingly, the concert starts on time. We are late.

The place is overflowing with people. I decide to go in since I'm already missing a good portion and Li is still buried in traffic.

It is downhill all the way.

Screw Globe. The network was busy the whole time we were there. No calls could be made and messages were an hour or so lagged.

Because of this, Li and I are having a hard time finding each other. I spend the almost the whole concert (especially when they let out a ballad medley) bonding with my cellphone.

It is not romantic to be all alone in the middle of a very mushy crowd while Boyz II Men is singing "I'll Make Love to You" and I am worried about my date.

Screw the concert organizers. They suck. I have Php 2,627 tickets that I am never even able to get near. Much less see. I spent the whole concert making my way through people standing on chairs and trying to get as close as possible (not that close).

I complained to an usher and the guy told me that there was nothing they could do since when the band started playing, people surged forward. Well, that's value for money and good planning for you.

I go "So what am I supposed to do now? I have very expensive seats here, I can't get to them and you're telling me it's my problem?!?!?! I wouldn't have been late if your traffic management wasn't so screwed up!"

At this point, I still haven't seen Li. I am long-distance running now between the 2 concert gates since I have Li's ticket. Shades of Miss Saigon come into mind.

I later see Li. They let her in without a ticket. That's right, more great concert organization for you. Li is only able to catch the last 4th of the concert.

Cheesy is the version of Boyz II Men of "Mama". They go, "Manila, you know I love you. Manila, I just want you to know loving you is like food to my soul...". Cheesy.

But the rest of the concert (whatever I caught anyway) was really sweet.

Going out was very similar to EDSA 2. Masses and masses of people. We are able to extract ourselves from The Fort at around 11:45 to think that the concert ended at 10:30.

And dinner, romantic if you ask me (haha!) was at North park Next Door, one of the safest bets.

It was a nice date, albeit a little stressful. I am able to catch up with Li on many things and we are able to have a conversation without fighting with each other. It was good quality time between friends.

It was a great evening all in all.

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On a Valentine's Note

Tune in for a little mush- something I'm actually fond of for some reason.

Personally, songs have always been way to ellicit and stir some feeling deep inside me.

Songs are very, very cathartic and I will more often than not relate current emotion to some song.

Love songs are no exception, since I'm pretty much fixated on the "love" topic and all the mush that comes with it. I love the cheese actually.

I believe that the 2 best love songs ever written are "All I Ask of You" from the Phantom of the Opera and "Come What May" from Moulin Rogue. "If I Never Knew You" from Pocahontas is a close runner up, though.

These songs, for me, capture the feeling of being in love and losing yourself in love with someone. They capture that dizzying high and inebriation, that feeling of invincibility.

Love is when you can face the world and all the troubles it presents you because you know that you've got someone on your side, faithfully supporting and sticking by you.

Love is when you just can't get enough of each other, even if you see each other everyday.

Love is the security of holding someone in your arms, without saying anything, but feeling so much for that person that you want to burst.

Love is when you look at things in a whole new dimension- the sun is brighter, the grass is greener and suddenly, you are infused with a new life. There is a new spring in your step and you have renewed passion- all driven by the thought of being madly in love with someone.

Love is as simple as holding that someone's hand and just feeling very complete and strong in doing so.

Love is the rush, the excitement. It is the torment. It is the passion. It is the strength.

Love is the melting pot of feelings that come over you when you're with that someone. You feel so much and yet you can say so little.

It is the feeling beyond all external gestures- past the roses, the chocolates, the pillows and even past that simple "I love you" text.

Love is the sweet silence in knowing and feeling everything, yet without saying a single word. You just know.

Just some thoughts from the hopeless romantic, torpe. I do wear my heart on my sleeve.

Breaking Point

I was ever so tightly-wound today. These are the days when you just know that nothing is meant to go right.

I lost all respect for a teacher that I used to look up to, until this day anyway.

I looked up to her until I became witness to what I percieve to be the "teacher version" of what is commonly known as a temper tantrum, cum PMS fit.

Good 'ol teacher was disappointed in the results of the exams held last week. She kept on emphasizing "This is a philosophy class and not a marriage encounter!". Well who said it was a marriage encounter anyway?

The teacher said that many answers in the test made it appear that she was running a marriage encounter seminar and that the test was one big joke. That people did not take the class seriously.

I guess it never dawned on her that students reflect what a teacher projects to them. No student wants to fail and will do his or her best to make good in a test.

So if the results appear that people take in her class as a marriage encounter, then it is because that is what she makes it appear to be. It does take 2 to tango.

I do not pay a small fortune to have a teacher throw a hissy fit in front of the class. I do not pay that sizeable amount to be told that I am tanga to my face.

Admittedly, the class didn't do too well. I didn't do that great even if I worked my ass off studying. But I guess she has got to realize that the problem may not lie ONLY with the students but wither herself as well.

We are students and we don't deserve to be an outlet for someone's frustration and PMS. Let someone else get the brunt of that- that is not what I came to school to learn.

* * *

Daredevil ticket sales have become another cause of worry.

When I was told that ORCA (my org) would be a beneficiary of the project and that we would have to sell 50 tickets, I accepted the terms in good faith.

I mobilized the different officers of the org and told them to sell as much as possible. I have been exahusting all possible sources of sales.

On a spur of the moment decision, I am told TODAY, 2 days before the premiere, that the 50 tickets would be pre-sold to ORCA. Pre-sold. That's right.

50 tickets amount to Php 10,000. At this point, the org doesn't even have that much money and now we have to bear the brunt of the sluggish sales. I mean, we were the charity case in the beginning, right?

And now, well, I am 2 inches short of panic mode and am very thankful to all those who have tried to placate me in school today.

I have always been one of those "When the going gets tough..." kind of person. I just hope that we can pull through now.

* * *

On a lighter note, I found my favorite 6-year old windbreaker today which I thought I had lost when I left it in school yesterday.

Thank God for small miracles!

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A Non-Descript Day in the Life of Me

I'm absorbing too much from Spanish class. Considering this is my 2nd time to take Spanish since the registrar messed up my enlistment, I'm getting pretty bien at this thing.

We had a test today and I was doing some last minute studying. Part of our lessons include knowing names of professions such as enfermera (nurse), piloto (pilot), camarero (waiter) and all that.

Since I absolutely cannot hang on to a pen for a week and I needed one for the test, I decided to pay my weekly homage to the school bookstore.

Me (fresh from studying Spanish and without thinking): Señorita, un piloto por favor.
Bookstore cashier: Ha?
Me (snapping out of Spanish mode): Ay! Isang black na Pilot pala... hehe...

How positively mortifying.

* * *

Do not believe anyone who says that all students from UA&P are rich or coño. One of the biggest fallacies in the whole universe.

Being the beneficiary org for Student Executive Board's Daredevil premiere is a double-edged sword. On one hand, your org is to benefit. BUT we have to sell tickets. 50 tickets by Friday. To kuripot UA&P students.

Trust me, selling tickets to UA&P students is like pulling teeth. Very difficult and very bloody. I've been trying to market Ben Affleck to the girls: "Doesn't Ben Affleck in latex do something to you?". Pretty unsuccessful, if you ask me.

Granted that Daredevil isn't really the most romantic movie to see on Valentine's weekend. The most common excuse I've heard is "Wala akong pera, e". Right.

So when all else fails within the school, look outside. I am currently trying to mobilize my High School barkada to watch the premiere. I'm pretty sure everyone else is doing the same.

Sales made? Hmmm... 1?

* * *

I am gearing up my plans for Valentine's day because yours truly has a date!

Not exactly the SOMEONE I want to be with but her name comes close. The closest I could come up with, anyway.

More for a trip than for the romance factor of it all, we agreed to be each other's date for Valentine's. And meaning date, we agreed on the works. The flowers, the dolling up, the eating in some mushy restaurant and all the cheese involved.

Plans are to catch the love concert of the school's chorale and then get dinner in some (ack!) romantic place.

Since one of my favorite hobbies is eating out, I've been deciding on what restaurant to take her to. I've been looking at several kitschy little restaurants and judging by merit of desert. A good desert for me is something not too sweet and chocolate.

It just dawns on me today that my date HATES chocolate. With a passion. It's gotten to the point that we share a chocolate mousse- she gets the cream and I get everything else.

But then, she is pretty much a cowgirl. One of the first times we had lunch together, we couldn't agree on a pasta dish. I wanted red sauce and she wanted white and so to settle things, we got something neutral.

Neutral was the Black Sea pasta, consisting of pasta cooked in squid ink. Needless to say, she ate with a napkin covering her mouth and we couldn't smile at each other the whole time!

So I'm back to Square 1 with all my mushy plans.

---

Chloe: There are other girls out there where you don't have to cross an emotional landmine
Clark: I just can't turn off my feelings for Lana
Chloe: You know, you've got 2 choices. You can sit in your loft and play with your telescope, or you can move on.
Smallville. "Nicodemus" (0115), Season 1

What an episode! Lana was hot, hot, hot!!!

Missing Childhood?!?

I was having lunch with Miel and Habanapz across school today when we started talking about Chess.

I admitted that I had no idea what they were talking about since I had no idea how to play.

Chess to me is like chopsticks, Math and Pusoy Dos. No matter how many times you teach me, I will never get the hang of it.

They then talked about Magic Cards. I also said that Magic Cards were a foreign language to me. Sure, they were en vogue before but I never bothered at all.

Habanapz goes, "Where have you been?!". And I did wonder- what the hell did I play with as a kid?

I do remember though, that while other kids had robots, I had my Matchbox car collection. Hundreds of 'em in all sizes. I only had one attept at having a robot- a Voltes V!

I also know that I played Trump cards with my busmates before. And play-doh I think? But that was on account of my sister.

There was also Lego. And the marble tables in school. And Game & Watches! But there were cars, most of all. None of the G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtle or Chost Buster action figures.

I guess I was never really in sync with the latest toy. From Grade 2 up, I was had my nose buried in a book. Especially my Archie collection!

Even with computer games, I was pretty much behind. I never had a Family Computer or an SNes. I only had a Game Boy and a Playstation that was bought around 3 years ago.

And to this day, my cousins have moved on from Ninja Turtles and Voltes V. Their toys now are their cars.

Personally, a car is for driving and getting me places and nothing else. So I don't see the need for lowering or altering anything stock in the car. But I guess I have different priorities.

Right now, I guess, my toys are this blog and the games on my 3530.

Or most probably, I'll still have my nose buried in a book or magazine. Some things never change

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To the Rescue!

Today would have been one of those zero days until Maite came running up to me, "Can you be Uappy?"

Uappy is UA&P's mascot- a very comical looking fat red dragon. The mascot is drawn in cartoons but it is actualized in the form of a very old and smelly padded 3 piece suit.

Now, I've always wanted to be Uappy- some idiosyncrasy of mine. I was tapped to do Uappy during a kid's party last Christmas but it didn't push through because I had class.

I also had class today during the time I was supposed to play Uappy. Initially, I thought I could just be late. But in the end, I ditched the whole thing altogether.

Uappy was needed for the launch of the school's Daredevil premiere tickets. It was basically there for additional support and pa-cute

Forewarned that being in Uappy was going to be hot, I take off my polo and wear my UA&P jacket. I get into Uappy and I the thought of a sauna gone out of whack comes to mind.

And man, I am the most jovial and makulit Uappy the school has ever seen. Uappy danced Asereje, waved, hugged girls (hehe!), slid along the marble floors of the school, skipped, hopped, clicked his heels and patted heads.

Ho boy! In that sweltering costume, I made my rounds. From the ledge, to the caf, to ACB 5th floor and even to the eating place across school. There was Uappy, waving, jumping and even dirty dancing (don't ask!).

All that time, there was a whole slew of comments. I heard somebody sing "Happy birthday! ...ay, mali. Jollibee pala 'yun" as well as "Hoy Uappy! Nagyoyosi ka ba?" as well as a few "Awww... hello Uappy!".

And since Uappy is old, I heard some "Uappy, ang tanda mo na. You are falling apart!". Scores also kept on trying to guess who I was.

On a gross note, Uappy's head allows space for the eyes and nose. None for the mouth. When you speak, your mouth opens directly onto a padded part of the mask. It is inevitable that you don't get any saliva or lay your lips and teeth on that padded area.

Great. In retrospect, having my lips, mouth and teeth on that padded area means that figuratively, I have kissed every previous guy who has done Uappy. I shudder to think about it.

And when I got out, whew! My hair was wet, my jacket could be squeezed for sweat, and my pants were wet from the sweat of my legs. A fine day I picked to wear khakis!

But hey! It was a really unorthodox experience and it was something I wanted to do for a long time now!

I am fulfilled.

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Road Raging

I was caught in major traffic on the way to the gym.

Personally, traffic itself with congestion is perfectly fine. I'm tuned in to 89.9 and the air-con is up. The car is slow but that doesn't trouble me in the least.

What gets my temper soaring is people who simply cannot wait in line, and presume it a smart movie to counter flow and cut in on the patient motorists who have kept their place in line and are waiting the traffic out law-abidingly.

The road to the gym was on major gridlock mode. My gym was already in sight but the traffic wasn't moving and I very well couldn't leave the car in the middle of the road.

In the middle of the mess, this L300 counterflows and tries to cut in on me. I, of course, refuse to be defeated by that jackass of a driver.

The L300 is almost successful as his nose is centimeters away from the car's hood. In my annoyance, I let out continuous 5 second blasts from my horn.

This ugly, moustached lady seated at the passenger seat of the van looks at me long and hard. Feeling hostile, I return her stare. Before she looks away, she rolls her eyes at me.

Traffic is moving steadily now, albeit a bit slowly. I try my best to get alongside the lady.

When the car is side by side, I get the window down and taking a page out of my sister's book, I shout at the lady, "Ang kapal ng bigote mo!". I give her the finger as I drive ahead.

That was nasty, but she was the best outlet for my road rage.

* * *

Shades of the Past

"This used to be my playground/ This used to be my childhood dream..."

I took a step back in today when I went to visit the Xavier school fair, called Kuangchinoy: The X Dynasty. How positively corny.

Initially, I was trying to mobilize the whole barkada. In the end, it was me and Kenneth (again!) who ended up going.

Stepping back into Xavier after 2 years, memories of the past assaulted me all at once.

"This used to be the place I ran to/ Whenever I was in need of a friend/ Why did it have to end?

Walking down the familiar pathways, which I had trod for 13 years brings back a wave of nostalgia. Has it been that long?

The sun, the dust, the music blaring from the mobile setup in the middle of the field, the smorgasbord of food, the indiscriminate spending. It is the atmosphere of a school fair that has long since been missed.

In retrospect, the school fair was one of the major highlights of my high school life. Each class had a booth and we were living it up, both days of the fair.

Why does the whole thing seems so shallow and baduy now that I am 3 years into college.

I do not like to think that I have outgrown the simple joys of a school fair. It is scary to think that I am way past the high that a school fair brings.

"And why do they always say don't look back/ Keep your head held high/ Don't ask them why because life is short/ And before you know, you're feeling old and your heart is breaking/"

Looking back, I realized how small my world was in High School. I saw all these High School seniors having the absolute time of their lives and I couldn't help thinking that I too was in their place not too long ago.

Hell, the trials and tribulations we had in High School have come to a climax in being a Senior. Little do the seniors know that of the world that awaits them outside the perimeters of Xavier.

Maybe I am just older, and my horizons are more exapnded now. This is why I can no longer enjoy the innocence that is a school fair.

I remember being 3rd year. I had a girl with me, I was manning our class booth which was a maze and I was with friends as well. And it was great. It was a very happy time.

This was us in 3rd year, with our Maze

"Don't hold on to the past/ That's just too much to ask..."

One of mine and Kenneth's primary reasons for visiting the fair was to see many of the teachers who have played major roles in our life that was High School.

Most remember us. But who could forget a very noisy, skeptical bunch like my barkada? We were a picture of contrasts: either teachers loved us or they hated us.

One thing I got to realize was that I was practically a nobody in High School. It was my friends who were the stars- they who got the awards and who involved themselves in project after project.

I dabbled in a few but wasn't as active as I wanted to be. But the past has no room for regrets.

I also got to realize how different I was back then. Noisy and outspoken already, but not armed with the confidence I hold now. I was happy to blend into the background and coast along with the others.

I was in the proverbial box. And I realized that I only left that box when I went to UA&P, free from the stereotypes that have been placed upon me.

But meeting my former teachers made my day. Even those teachers I had a few unpleasant encounters with. It was all water under the bridge. And they now greet me with, "Ang lusog mo naaaa!!!!". Not exactly the greetings I wanted to hear.

"This used to be my playground/ This used to be my childhood dream/ This used to be the place I ran to/ Whenever I was in need of a friend/ Why did it have to end/ And why do they always say/ No regrets..."

Aside from the fair, we took the opportunity to trace our High School life through the halls and corridors.

All those walls hold many a glory, a triumph, a failure of Xaverians past. Mine included. I have regrets, but my High School experience was a very happy one.

We raced with abandon through the steps and halls, memories now, but which we once used to call home. Familiar surroundings which will always remain preserved within memories of the hundreds of schooldays we've had.

We passed the org rooms where we organized and fixed up many a project, the classrooms which were sites of many capers.

"But I wish that you were here with me/ Well there's hope yet/ I can see your face in our sacred place/ You're not just a memory/ Say goodbye to yesterday/ Those are words I'll never say..."

And all the hangouts my friends and I used to have. The gym, the caf, the classroom. All these places where friendship was cultivated and strengthened.

And not only friends- we had ties with teachers as well. They were the benevolent guards of our so-called prison and we had memorable times with them as well.

I have a scar on my left arm named Menchie. It was named after this teacher who was chasing me after I hid her shoes and then while running I slashed my arm on the glass window...or those who stood up for me when I almost didn't graduate.

It is nice to go back once in a while, but the sad fact is that clinging to the past stops you from growing. It's as if you remain at one stage.

To think I'm way past that. Back at the fair, I felt a rope around my arm. Some Senior actually mistook me for a lower batch kid whom he could capture for their booth.

After I regained my initial shock, I blurted out, "Hoy! Hoy! College student na ako!" and the Senior lets go of me as if I told him I had leprosy.

I'm more senior than the senior! Hehe!

"This used to be my playground/ This used to be our pride and joy/ This used to be the place we ran to/ That no one in the world could dare destroy...I wish that you were standing here with me..."

Looking and going back on a nostalgia trip isn't too bad. This is the place that whipped me into shape for 13 years.

But more than looking back, better is to storm forward armed with the tools that Xavier gave me.

These tools are too never forget to let my light shine and to carve my niche in this world.

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