24 January 2006

such small hands


nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands.
-e.e. cummings


here comes the rain.

the skies roll over
letting the droplets fall from the sky,
gray and heavy.

i stand alone.
watching
staring
as the rain washes away the dust
the pain
of this tired place.

and sometimes,
i wish it would wash me away too.

here is the rain.

it will drown my sorrow
and
perhaps

even the memory of you.

22 January 2006

a pajama post

I came home the other day to find these two little critters running around the kitchen. One is adorably kulot like its owner (teehee), and the other looks like an... erm, miniature wolf. They're such cute hyperactive little hairballs. I'm thinking of naming one of them after my boss, Mr. R*. Just imagine the tricks I can teach him: Mr. R, sit! Mr. R, roll over! Mr. R, shut up! And the champion trick: Mr. R, play DEAD! Bwahahahaha. I'm against animal cruelty, though, so I suppose I have to think of some other funky name for them.
*My boss's name has been changed for my protection.

I finally found a copy of L'Auberge Espagnole in, of all places, SM. (Who knew they carried such obscure titles?) It turns out the international release is called The Spanish Apartment, and I was looking under L this whole time. Of course, leave it to local marketing ploys to repackage the movie as something like an American Pie rip-off. At least they preserved the movie in its original subtitled format -- I can just imagine the horror of watching the movie dubbed telenovela style. PS. Romain Duris reminds me of my Frenchie crush. Drool.


Look what I just found on the stairway in Megamall B's basement: it's Gary's famous SM Food Court ad! Hahahahahaha. Nothing can quite prepare you for the shock of seeing an enormous Gary plastered on the wall about to eat a whole table of food. What a riot!


After two months of being in the repair shop, my good old Canon Powershot A70 is back. I'm still thinking of buying a new camera, though, because I find the Powershot too bulky and heavy. I suppose I should wait and see if this is just a case of shopaholic-ism. Anyway, has anyone tried the Kodak EasyShare V530 or the V550?

15 January 2006

falling in mid-flight

this is your life
are you who you want to be?
is it everything you dreamed that it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?
-this is your life, switchfoot




If everything went according to plan, today I would be somewhere else.

I would be on a flight to Cincinnati, maybe even Toronto.

Or perhaps, at a different desk, at a different company, in a different industry.

But plans have a way of falling in mid-flight. Instead, I am here today, clueless about what the future holds for me. There are a million what-ifs running through my mind, and in some alternate universe I can see a version of me I had met once in my childhood dreams.

My entire life, I've always had everything planned carefully -- from my future plans to the most minute details of my next day. Lately, though, I have found myself wondering why I am where I am today. It feels like at some point in time, everything started spinning in the opposite direction.

Time is such a powerful tool. You never feel it, but it's always there, spinning its web, molding you into someone else. It's the force that brings people together; it's the same force that tears people apart, no matter how hard you fight against it. Fate. Destiny. That's what some people call it. I never believed in destiny, or predetermination. Yet I find myself asking why things have gone they way they have. Why do certain things happen at what seem to be the most inopportune times? Why do people enter and leave my life at the exact moment they do? Why does it have to feel like I'm being torn apart, then patched up with the greatest care, only to be shattered into a million pieces once more?

I wish I knew, but I'm just a pawn in this grand design.

Time has other plans for me.

* postcard lifted from PostSecret

11 January 2006

the soc sci trio



What do a Computer Science, Home Economics and Philosophy major have in common? Absolutely nothing!!! Hahaha. That's why I absolutely love these girls! We're in such different worlds that there's never a dull moment. Next time dapat sa P45 na tayo, Cris! ;)

10 January 2006

the salad capital

A bored and hungry officemate and I were craving to eat somewhere new today. I wasn't particularly hungry, and Ryann didn't know what he wanted to eat (except for the fact that gusto niya, madami!), so somehow we ended up at Cravings in Shangri-La. (I think it was the eat-all-you-can sign at the entrance that did us in. Hehe.)

Sulit! If you order any main course (averages around PhP200), you get to eat from their soup & salad buffet: a choice of two soups; rolls with a selection of spreads (several kinds of pate, fruit jam, & butter); macaroni salad, potato salad, and the regular make-your-own-leafy-green-salad, with a selection of dressings ranging from the classic Caesar and Thousand Island to Strawberry Vinnaigrette; plus a few pastas and herbed potatoes.

All for the price of a single main dish! Ayos! *claps in glee*

02 January 2006

where the streets have no name


Because it's the new year, and with the new year should come new experiences, I commuted to Carriedo and Intramuros today. I used the public transportation system (if it can be called a system) for the first time in ages. And by public transport, I do not mean taxis and FXs -- I'm referring to the good old, sweaty siksikan of the LRT1 and jeepneys. And in Manila, to boot!

*clap clap*

I'm so proud of myself. It's amazing what two years of a Makati yuppie lifestyle can do to you. I feel like I've somehow reverted back to that convent-bred brat who didn't know anything masa and made tusok-tusok the fishball.

Yes, I can travel halfway around the world alone and brave the subways of New York at night, but I am seriously terrified of the old Manila area. Maybe it's a combination of me being directionally-challenged + my acute aversion to hot, sweaty crowds + me just being my praning self. Feeling ko, either mawawala, ma-sna-snatchan or ma-ho-hold up ako. But you know what? I actually experienced just the opposite.

I realized that there was actually some order to all that chaos.

I met a man with no hands playing a tune on a plastic harmonica, who chose not to beg for alms but to work for it.

I met a vendor on the street, who took time out from hawking her wares to teach me how to get to Intramuros from Carriedo.

I met a jeepney driver who gave me a kind smile as he told me, "Miss, diyan na po ang babaan sa Immigrations."

I met a government officer who actually served with a twinkle in his eyes, and entertained all my questions no matter how stupid or how many I asked.

I met a man carrying a palanggana along the edge of the Pasig River, and a woman with her two children sleeping on a pedicab, who pointed me in the direction of the MacArthur Bridge.

Okay, so they gave me the wrong directions, causing me to end up under the bridge instead of on the bridge. But then I met a guard who helped me clamber up the railings of the bridge (yes, it was the ultimate, wa-poise moment) so that I could reach Sta. Cruz.

And just when I thought I couldn't catch an LRT ride home because it was too full, an old lady pulled me into the train so I didn't have to wait for the next one.

It's the people like these who make me feel that somehow, there is hope for our country. And maybe, just maybe, it's worth it to stay in the country and wait for the day when things will get better.

Manila, my Manila. Either you love it or hate it.