spreading the sky

Monday, July 24, 2006

Brothering

Im surprised at myself. I'm actually being a good big brother. I was studying for a report at home when my little sister came to me saying that my younger brother was crying upstairs since he broke his yo-yo. Having been bored with what I was reading (some really boring article on social development theories for developing countries in the context of a globalizing world), I walked upstairs to repair the yo-yo.

I did not need to have a PhD in yo-yoism to figure out how to repair the thing since the string just got untied. Using the best of my capabilities, I tried to tie the string again. My little sister was so engrossed in my repairing the yo-yo, as if it were a matte of life and death. She even placed Good Luck Bear (apparetly one of the care bears who had the power to shoot good luck from his tummy) right next to me just in case I needed magic. How sweet! When I finished repairing the yo-yo, my brother was delighted. According to him, I fixed it in such a way that it ended up better than it was before he even broke it.

I have been rather oblivious to my family's affairs for quite sometime (and by this I mean since high school). Although we live in the same house, I've realized, ironically, that I miss them.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Exasperated

I do not appreciate being set aside. It has happened before and it is SO not fun. I wait out for somebody, make time for somebody, just to find out that that person is not making time for me. It really sucks and I'm damn tired of it already. When people make promises I expect these promises to be kept. Its not a nice feeling being left hanging in the air. If you do not intent to keep your promises might as well not give your word in the first place. This situation is just too exasperating that I am all tired out already. I will not call, I will not text, I will not even chat you up on ym. Its your turn to do the chasing and the running after. If in case you don't do that, then I'll just be seeing you around, whenever, wherever, whatever.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Whirlwind of Drunken Hearts

My horoscope for this month tells me that it will be quite exciting when it comes to the love department. According to my good friend Susan Miller, Venus and my ruling planet Uranus will cause me to sparkle and shine this month. Finally! I certainly hope so because for a long time, my love life was just plain boring. Now at least I feel it is getting somewhere.

Things have definitely been heating up. I find myself being swept into a whirlwind of drunken hearts, three drunken hearts to be exact, four including mine. To simplify, A likes B, but B likes me, causing A and B to get into trouble with each other. But what A and B don't know is that I like C, and C does not know that I am causing trouble between A and B. So complicated. So nice.

I do not know if this whirlwind is exactly good for my sanity. I feel I am going to regret this in the future. But I will just throw all caution to the wind and enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Slanted Eyes, Smiling Moons

I went to Bataan with my Dad over the weekend. We went to the site of Bataan Techno Park which is around 300 hectres plus, plus. It is a beautiful plateau surrounded by mountains on all sides, very lush and very beautiful. When we went up, it was raining so the mist of the clouds literally blanketed the rolling hills. I have never seen fog so thick before. It reminded me of the misty mountain peaks in the old Arthurian legends.

But what was truly magnificent about this place is its history. Before being converted into a special economic zone, this plateau was once a refuggee camp for the people fleeing the Vietnam War. Thousands of Vietnamese escaped their small villages on nothing but fishing boats, and sailed to the nearest land mass they could find. It turned out that that land mass was a beach in Morong, Bataan. The Philippine government housed these refugees, and with the help of the United Nations created a community for them in the mountains of Morong. It was only a couple of years ago that the last batch of refugees was sent off to either the United States or Europe. Although they were all gone, I could not help but feel their weighty presence. It was in the white mist which hung over the mountain like fine Vietnamese silk.

These refugees left indelible marks on the land that will forever speak of their odyssey. As we were driving to the cottage we were to stay in, my Dad and I passed by several Buddhist shrines which blossomed like lotus flowers all over the forest. They were built by the Vietnamese during their stay here, and are still intact today. There were around five shrines which we visited, and all of them were tucked away in unassuming corners of the forest, as if they were part of the mountain itself. Looking at the alien shrines made me feel as if the refugees were still present. It was as if I was walking on a sandy shore, my feet filling up the footsteps which they have left behind.

After that, we visted the museum which contains all the testaments to these people's stay in the Philippines. I was surprised that one of the fishing boats they used to cross the South China Sea was still in one piece. At that moment, I was conviced that it was magic that brought these refugees here, since the boat itself does not seem worthy enough to withstand the harshness of the high seas. Amazing.

But what really got me rolling was looking at all the pictures of these people. All those faces communicated to me in a way that was inexplicable. There was one particular picture which caused my hairs to stand on end. It was a picture of two Vietnamese boys, around sixteen or seventeen, who were shyly looking at each other with dark slanted eyes---eyes which to me looked like smiling moons. I could feel a tender happiness between them, an innocent kind of joy that could have possibly bordered on love.

The Muse is strong in these mountains. I already told my Dad that I will return to Bataan just to breathe in the presence of these people. I look forward to the day when I can once again see the picture of the two boys, so that I may write about the moon that is in their eyes.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Books and Nostalgia

There was a recent booksale in Tiendesitas and I went there hoping to find cool stuff. I'm really happy because New Day Pulications (yes, the really old one which prior to today I thought was already extinct) had a stall there. What was so cool about it was that they were selling books by the Tiempos: Edilberto K. Tiempo, and his daughter Rowena Tiempo Torrevillas. They sold for around thirty pesos each. Their cover designs (as usual) left a lot to be desired. In another part of the book sale I was able to find Jing Hidalgo books, worth around the same price. I also bought poetry anthologies for fifty pesos and other books by UST press for a slightl higher price. I even found a book by Cesar Ruiz Aquino, his first ever book to be published I think, and it sold for only twenty pesos. Ahhhh...the wonders of cheap books.

But probably the most interesting books I bought were the old Batibot children's books which I used to read as a kid: Ang Pamilyang Ismid and another one about aliens who ate their candy planet till nothing was left. I remember the books very distinctly because at that time, the illustrations looked so cute. Theyu still do after all these years. Reading them again made me somewhat nostalgic; it was like a meeting between old friends. The best thing about it was that the books sold for only five pesos. Coolness.