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.)

a quiet week

How did you spend your holy week?

I went home to the province (and I'm still here). Against my mother's complaint, I brought with me so many stuff and urban clothes, thinking I'd "seize" every day of this long vacation. I've been missing drinking alcohol and going home at 4 am. I also missed my old friends here.

Apparently, I only went out of the house twice. One was on Good Friday to "watch" the procession, at the request of 11-year-old Eduard. The other was on Sabado de Gloria, making our way to hundreds of people who decided to go to the same water park as the one we went to (it was really a hassle, but we enjoyed the day nonetheless). This was also at the request of the children.

I guess my plan to party didn't work out well. Apparently, I didn't miss drinking and partying that much. Is this part of growing old? Or perhaps this was really the normal me. I've spent almost every day here in a routine manner. Reading a book, watching DVD, watching TV, and reading a book---with meals in between, and almost all the time, with kids around.

I remember holy week last year was full of activities. Yes, it was a vacation week, but it was quite tiring. This one was more serene. And frankly, I enjoyed it more. =)

So, how was yours?

teenage dirtbag

Ian, the first kid since the first set of grandchildren (kuyang, me, and tootie - only a year apart from each other), turned 17 yesterday. When he was a baby, we were all into him, especially me. He's just so cute, and his smile was so endearing. He took over our world, my world, for a time. When I come home from school (I was in high school then), I'd go straight to his room, look at him, and play with him for a while. During some nights, I sleep over with him and his parents. At times, I really think angels are playing with him, especially when he giggles alone. Eventually, his parents moved out, but they entrusted his care to Lola. So he has become, what you may call, a Lola's boy.

After years of staying in Manila, and going home only for long weekends and holidays, I never really saw him grow up. True, I witnessed the important events in his life, but I never saw his day-to-day life that turned him into what he is now.

He's grown to be the typical teenaged kid, you know, with the usual complaints about them. If he's not on the net, he constantly has all those Apple accessories plugged into his ears, making it very hard to talk with him. And of course, he hates staying at home and prefers spending time with barkadas. I never really guessed he'd be the same way that he is now. But don't we all pass through this phase? Some just pass through it faster than the others, while others almost never pass this stage (take a guess which category I belong to). Still, I know in my heart that he and his siblings and my niece Keng all grow up to be fine adults someday. I am praying for that, every time I pray.

To some extent, I envy Ian. I never had the same liberty he's been experiencing now. My parents, Lola even, were stricter back when we were teenagers. I am home by 6 pm and rarely go out with friends on weekends. And I never, never, experienced sleepovers and out-of-towns. At the same time, I am happy for him---that he has been living the life a teenager should live it. I hope he gets wisdom from the life that he is choosing now. After all, I know he's angel is always still with him.

Happy birthday, Ian. Never forget, ever, that we love you always. You will always be my original favorite. ;)

Note: Teenage Dirtbag is a Wheatus song that I really love.

bloopers

I've heard so many people complain about their Internet or phone connections, especially when they most need it, to look for the 1st anniversary gift for him, to book a flight, or to meet a deadline (do you still remember the PLDT customer service controversy?).

For a whole week, I did not use my net, so I was quite annoyed when there was no connection, especially when I needed it to meet a deadline for work. Immediately I called up the hotline.

After all the interviews, all the agent could offer was for me to switch the ends of the yellow cable connecting the modem and the laptop. I said, "are you serious?" as I was expecting a more elaborate solution, like configuration or something. It still did not work after that, so he said a technician would have to personally check my connection. I was irked by the delay, but what can I do? I just emphasized the need to have it fixed within 24 hours.

And within 24 hours, the technician came. I welcomed him in a not-so-good mood (still annoyed by the connection problems). In a second, he fixed the problem. Apparently, the cable connecting the phone and the modem was not plugged to the phone! Oh my gosh, after all the bad mood, it was just a stupid mistake on my part! haha! The agent should have asked me to check all the cables that need to be checked. haha. It was really a simple solution after all.

In my shame, when he told me that the cable was pulled out, I just said, "the net was down since last night!" haha. What does that have to do with anything? When he opened the modem, I was half hoping it won't work. But it did. :p