I met a (suicide) bomber

At around 315 am, my friend and I were already at the Victory Liner bus terminal in Cubao to get on the 4 am trip to Baguio. And about that time, the bus was already fully booked. We have to wait for the 5 am bus. For us, that was really frustrating. And so did the man in line behind us felt.

He was wearing a white polo shirt and carrying a suitcase and another hand-carry bag. Although he didn't look like a rich businessman with great management jobs, you wouldn't get friendly with him either. He's the serious type. He asked us (more like confirmed) if the 4 am trip was full, and we said yes. He said the Genesis bus line still has the 4 am bus. We asked him if he was sure. He said he was. So we agreed to go there. It's on the north-bound lane in EDSA, whereas the Victory Liner bus is on the south-bound lane. Inarguably, we could walk to there.

But the man talked to the taxi parked outside Victory and told the driver to bring us to Genesis. My friend and I didn't know how to react. First, we didn't want to spend money on taxi fare. Second, he's a stranger. But our better judgment failed us, and we got on the taxi. (Although frankly, I didn't have second thoughts. I felt he was harmless. lol.) He asked if we were from Baguio, and we said no. Then I asked him if he was from there; he said he's going to Pangasinan, and if he fell asleep on the bus, he'd go to Baguio. Then he said, he just got home from... but he stopped talking just before he could say a place.

We got to Genesis just a few minutes after. The man took a thick fold of money just cramped together from his pocket (I saw 500 bills!) and paid the cab. Once we reached the cashier, we learned that the 4 am trip was also full. We again agreed to go back to Victory. I told the man that maybe we should walk, but he again called a cab. He told the driver to bring us to Victory, but to drop by a fruit stand first. Now this time, we said it's okay, we'd go straight to Victory. Of course, the fruit stand was another matter. haha.

He said, okay. He gave us a thousand bill to buy two tickets for him, because he wanted the whole seat to himself then told the taxi driver to bring him to Farmers (the fruit stand). Before the cab could leave, I asked for his number, just in case we'd have to go somewhere else and could not wait. He said, "ok lang yan. makikita ko kayo," then left.

At this point, my friend and I couldn't help but smile in amazement about this man. Why would he give us a thousand bill just like that? In fairness, he made our otherwise surly morning to something interesting. We made speculations on what this could man be. My friend came up with an idea that maybe he's a (suicide) bomber. (Of course, you know a few paragraphs before, that my declaration in the title was not true... right?)

He went back to the terminal. We gave him his tickets, then we went to 711 to kill time. When we finally sat on our seats on the bus, we noticed that there were two people across us. Well, that should be just one man, the stranger we just met.

Why wasn't he on the bus, after buying two tickets and after exerting efforts to get on the 4 am trip?

My friend checked the spaces below the seats. There were no black bags left hidden. =)

his best birthday EVER

My "little boy" Eduard had his 11th birthday last May 6. Since it was a Friday, I got to celebrate his birthday with him on a Saturday night. (Actually, we bought him shoes Saturday afternoon.) And according to him, he truly had a great time, that is, compared with his other birthdays---his best birthday ever! So where did I bring him and his kuya ian? I brought him to a resto bar (owned by my friend's family).

We started the night with a dinner. We ordered the specialty rice, buttered chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and something that tasted like pindang na usa. The food was great!

Eduard really ate a lot!

Then, I urged them drink with me in the bar! They were a bit shy at first...

But eventually learned how to hold a bottle!

Hey! I'm not that cool, you know? All we did in the bar was photo-ops. Dami namin pictures sa bar na yan! hehe. Maybe next time, I'd really teach them how to drink or to trailer hitch or to play pusoy dos, but not at age 11!

Just the three of us bonding

The fun part was when we played billiards. The three of us are novices, so we were all excited to hold a tako. And we were all eager to shoot a ball. But a single 8-ball game took an hour! And we downgraded our goal to this: just hit the ball with that white one!

At about 1 am, we finished playing billiards. We got exhausted after hours of playing and containing our excitement. It felt like we were pros the way we were too keen on shooting a ball. haha. Whenever we shoot a ball (is this even the term used for it?), it was hysteria!

Afterward, we conquered the videoke until 3 am, with yours truly leading the challenge. haha. We wouldn't go home if I hadn't received a text from an angry mother (my mother) telling me to bring the kids home. =)

Happy birthday, Eduard! I love you soooooooooo much!

tacsiyapo!!!

On mother's day, our family went to Isdaan in Tarlac. It's such a wonderful place. I wasn't expecting I'd really enjoy the place. I thought it was just like Dampa, where fresh seafoods and delicious meals are cooked. I was completely wrong. Isdaan was so much more (i'll make a post soon).

It was known for tacsiyapo. They have a wall there where you could throw plates, cups, and even a television just so you could release your anger or stress. Be it your inefficient cable or xbox live subscription, the loss of you favorite NBA team, lousy boss, poor grades, or just your pure hellish life. haha. You have to shout "tacsiyapo" before smashing stuff against the wall.

You could buy the plates, mugs, etc., from them. Heck, you could even buy a TV to throw at the wall (if you're frustration is that big!).

Mugs cost P15. Plates P16. TV P2000.

Here are the pictures of the kids before throwing against the wall. When people throwing are supposed to be angsty, the kids were so happy!

a toast!

Here are our photos targeting all those things we're mad at.

College kid Ian targeting "Profs/Classmates"

Eduard targeting, well, the wall. haha.

I targeted "highblood atbp" (they should have changed it to cancer/kidney failure haha. On my next try, I also targeted "Profs/Classmates". =)

My cousin's girlfriend, manager of a computer sales company, targeted "abusadong customer" and threw the plate with feelings! Among the bubbles there, I think the most targeted, judging by the faded paint, was "mother-in-law" haha. You? What would you hit there?

choices, and lack thereof

Life is full of choices. Whether Coke or Sprite, liposuction or conjugated linoleic acid, nursing or engineering, stay or leave, single or married, fight or flight. Whether an optimist or a pessimist. Whether an idealist or a realist. You choose whether you'd be a hero or a villain.

But it's easier said than done, as most lines like these are. I know I'd choose Coke any time, but that's about the most decisive I can be. I think my life hasn't been much of a conscious choice, not to mention that this life has made me indecisive. Most of the time, I feel like I have no choice---everything's a matter of survival---and I think many people feel the same way as I do.

I know I've made choices I'm not happy with, but I think that they're the right choices. I guess that there's one choice I can't afford to be wrong with, and that is responsibility, although it sometimes is at the expense of choosing to be happy or choosing to be free. Then again, you couldn't also be happy if you know you failed in this one. Aha! Is there really a choice?

I may sound a little (or a lot) bitter, but at this point I am not. I have already accepted what fate has brought me, although I'm not sure how much longer this state would be. Perhaps fate isn't that antithetical of choices after all. And perhaps one day, I could freely make choices the way it's supposed to be. That probably again is one thing that we should always choose to have: hope.


(P.S. This a comment to eks' multiple choice.)