Life's A Trip...

Listening to Side A's "Only You", I can't help but wander back to a place where dreams were free and the spirit of youth still roams freely within me - my teenage years of course. Funny how time flies so fast, and with the way we live our lives today, it's almost next to impossible to take even just a few minutes off of our busy schedules to take time to reminisce or look back to our forever lost childhoods.  That's why for me, it's always a breather to go someplace where beautiful memories took place, paired of course with the music of the time, and with the friends you've shared those beautiful memories with, memories that will forever be etched in your mind.  It may be of the teenage love you thought you'd be with for the rest of your life and the memories of her and all the things you did - the talks from night 'till dawn, the sunsets you've watched together, the gifts, the petty quarrels, the way you miss her, the l...

It was sometime in the late 80s.  I remember riding a jeep to Calbiga, one of the municipalities in Western Samar, together with my Uncle Leo a few days before its fiesta .  Yearly attendance in the said occassion had been a family tradition, and me and Uncle Leo went ahead to help with the preparations.  Being a kid at that time, I found the trip long and boring.  But even then, I already knew how to appreciate the beauty of the natural scenery unfolding before me, and I still remember how the countryside looked like to this day. The next day (or later that day), my mom arrived together with my siblings and some of my cousins, and treated us to  a snack at a nearby eatery.  After the treat, Mom toured us around town before going back to my grandmother's house for dinner.  The ambiance of the place had been one common of fiestas - busy hosts rushing last minute preparations, mobile stores selling toys...

It had been a busy day and while inside a bus on my way home, all I could think about was reaching our house, eating a delicious meal, watching TV, and sleeping comfortably.  Then, as the bus made a turn on a bend, I glanced towards the window and saw this little girl.  Still clad in her worned-down elementary school uniform, the girl was sitting right in front of a KIA Motors display center, sipping what appears to be a plastic of "sago", and staring at all the vehicles passing her way, probably wondering what it feels like to be sitting inside one.  Looking at her, I can't help but feel pity for the girl - innocent and still unaware of the hardships of the real world.  True, she may be studying today, but for how long?  With the current situation of this country, the government being oblivious to the plight of its less fortunate citizens, and with the prevalence of greed and selfishness among most of those with money and power, it...

Ps Isang hapong walang pasok, muli, hindi ko na naman napigilang maglakad-lakad sa loob ng main campus ng PUP, at kasabay noon, ang alalahanin ang nagdaang mga araw na masaya ko pang nakakasama ang barkada - mga kaklaseng sa loob ng apat na taon ay napalapit at naging bahagi na ng buhay ko.  Matagal-tagal na din mula ng huli kaming magkasama-sama, maliban sa ilan na kasama ko sa trabaho at kasabay kong binubuno ang pang-limang taon sa kolehiyo, at siyempre ang girlfriend ko na madalas kong nadadalaw sa Cavite.  Bukod sa kanila wala na. Ilang buwan pa lang ang nakakaraan mula ng magsipagtapos sila.  Sa kasamaang palad, naiwan ako at dalawa pa sa barkada.  Pero di tulad ng mga kasama kong naiwan, ako lang ang may klase sa main, at araw-araw, kahit saan mapadaan, kahit saan tumingin, di ko maiwasang may maalala sa mga lugar na tinambayan ng tropa - sa registrar, sa hallway, 1st hanggang 6th floors ng main building, sa oval, sa may flagpole, sa lagoon.  Parang...

And as I went out, there was nothing but mist covering every inch of the road leading to my destination.  It was a Monday morning and I had hoped that even at 4 AM, a tricycle would pass by saving me the task of walking alone in a pitch black morning clouded with thick fog.  But none came.  So with thoughts of Lestat, Whitechapel and Jack the Ripper, Mr. Hyde, and Dracula in mind, I started pacing the long stretch of sand and gravel, praying that none of the characters in my mind at the time would materialize.  A few weeks ago, there had been news of "Manananggal" sightings within the vicinity.  But manananggals were the least of my concerns at that moment since I've been told that they normally come out from the months of May to August, months without the letter "R" in their spellings.  What I feared was meeting a knife-wielding psycho, standing amidst the mist waiting for a victim.  Cloaked in black clothing, long curly hair covering his ...

Minsan ba pumasok na sa utak mo na paano kaya kung naging iba ang buhay mo sa buhay mo ngayon - tapos ng pag-aaral, may magandang trabaho, may masayang pamilya, at walang gaanong pinoproblema? Paano kaya kung sa halip na ikaw ang nagbibigay ng limos, ay ikaw ang namamalimos; imbes na ikaw ang kumakain sa loob ng isang sikat na kainan, ay ikaw ang nakasilip sa labas ng kainan at nangangarap na kahit minsan lang ay matikman ang mga nakahaing masasarap na pagkain sa mesa; at imbes na ikaw ang bumibili ng sampaguita, ay ikaw ang nagbebenta ng sampaguita? Minsan ba sumagi na din sa isip mo na maswerte ka at hindi ka isa sa mga kinakaawan mo, na may pamilyang nagmamahal sa iyo at hindi ka pinababayaang lumaboy at mamalimos sa daan, na regular kang nakakakain ng masasarap na pagkain, na hindi ka nagbababad sa ulan para kumita ng konting barya? Madalas kong dinadalangin na sana naging sobrang yaman ko, kasi noon pa man gusto ko ng makatulong sa ibang tao sa paraang alam...