August 17, 2007

A Treat...


"Get dressed. We're eating at the best pasta restaurant in the country tonight!" my friend, Trisha, hollered at me. "Can we just call for a delivery?" I asked, pouting. "No", she replied with a tone of finality."We are gonna give ourselves a treat tonight, trust me!", she added. Trisha has been bugging me for the past days to go out and accompany her traipsing around the city. I always tried to give out all the excuses that I can think of to avoid being pulled out from my ever comfortable chair and be separated from my notebook.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't want to spend time with one of my close friends, I do. It's just that when it comes to Trisha, having fun means GUYS! She loves to be showered with male attention and for her, it comes naturally. In the past, we used to enjoy the times along with our other friends when we make a bet on who can first find the lucky guy (or should I say unlucky?) who will pay our tab for the night.

After a few years, we've grown out of those silly games not because we can already afford our own dinner and drinks but because we like to spend more quality time with our friends than spending our time working up our charms on a poor unsuspecting chap although sometimes Trisha still has the tendency to go back to the old ways every once in awhile. Seeing her bored expression with a glint of mischievous fire in her eyes, I sensed that tonight is one of those "once in awhile".


" the center of Robinsons Walk "
I resigned myself to the fact that I can't get out of her company and whatever it is she has in store for us tonight. We took a cab and went to Robinsons Walk. True to her word, we ate the best pasta I've ever eaten in my entire life! "Skechers" is the pasta restaurant that allows you to design your own pizza and pasta. They also have the sweetest and softest lamb chops I've ever tasted.





After a hearty meal, we proceeded to walk down the lighted streets toward the best nightspot in town, Clarke Quay. We enjoyed taking each others photos along the riverbank of the famous Singapore River. We passed by a couple of the famous discos and resto bars in the city, Attica, One Night Stand, MOS (Ministry of Sounds), to name a few. We stopped in front of the River Taxi stand and debated whether we will try taking a ride out on the riverboat tonight or in the morning when the scenic views along the river can be more clear on our photos. We opted for the latter. We took a couple of more steps and heard the booming voice of a man selling his Turkish Ice Cream not far from us surrounded by a group of crowd. He got our attention for a couple of minutes due to his unique antics in preparing the ice cream when Trisha suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me to a bar stand placed outside a resto bar, plopped down on an empty seat and immediately ordered a drink without sparing a glance in my direction.



I thought to myself, "Here we go again." but still I continued to take the next available seat to her and gave my order too. For the first hour, we enjoyed chatting about everything and checking the people and place around us. We were both having fun checking out the different get ups of the passersby as well as some of the guys God given endowments when something in the distance caught our eye. We saw a spherical metal structure with 3 seats inside being tossed high above in the air by a bungee rope tied to 2 long metal structures on each side of the riverbank. Our interest got piqued and we asked the friendly bartender about it.



It is called G-MAX Ultimate Bungy and it costs S$40 for a 3minute experience. We looked at each other with a wide yet excited grins on our faces. "Shall we try it?", I said. My friend nodded and added, "but let's look for someone to treat us for it." I just gave her a smile and slightly shook my head at her ways. "Whatever, but you do the work!", I answered. It took her only 15 minutes before her prey started his way on our side of the bar. The menu for tonight are 2 Australian guys in their mid 30's who are here for a week to cover a food and wine showcase from different countries all over the world for their magazine. After the exchanging of cards, the conversation flowed smoothly. It didn't take Trisha long before she started working up on her mission. Indeed, the guys were obliging enough to fulfill our wish. After we informed the bartender that we will just come back after trying the Ultimate Bungy and to keep our tab open, we proceeded down the path to try one of the most exhilarating experience in my life! (this part I will dedicate on a separate post)

The night continued to crawl as we enjoyed the company of these two Australians who surprisingly are quite gentlemen. When the time reached three in the morning and after having 5 frozen mango margaritas for myself and 7 for Trisha, we caught each others eye across the table and understood that now is our cue to start our graceful exit. We thanked the gentlemen for their time and assured them that we enjoyed it immensely and started giving our excuses.

On the way home, we were both still animatedly talking about the bungee experience.

Before retiring for the night, Trisha looked at me and said, "So, did you have fun?". I smiled and nodded. "Told you we are gonna give ourselves a treat!", she quipped.

That statement sent us bursting into laughter for we not only were treated a ride on the bungy but also on our tab as well. Back to the good ol' days....

August 12, 2007

Even if It Takes Forever

I have almost lived half of my lifetime now...

And I could say, I almost had it all.

The glitz and glamour,

The fun and laughter,

The bondings and parties...

The happy-go-lucky friends,

The hopelessly romantic ones,

The booze buddies and the chimney pals.

Men who have loved and cherished me at one time or another

Who gave me their all and brought me the world.

I had a great and almost perfect life with them.

But still, I choose to leave...

Not because they weren't perfect

But because I have to let go...

For deep inside the recesses of my troubled mind and restless soul,

I knew...

That I'm still waiting...

Waiting for that one person at the end of the rainbow...


The Ultimate Realization




They say that the pain a broken heart can give is the worst pain one could ever feel. I've seen my friends go through it over and over again. I was there on every tear that drops, every scream they've done, every litany of curses spewed, every time they made a fool of themselves when they try to regain what was lost, and every time their pride was stamped on once again... So then I decided I won't expose myself to that kind of torture, that kind of pain.

I've succesfully shielded my heart and my pride all these years and have left every relationship with myself intact and unscathed but was I really intact? Or is it just the hollow state of me that is intact? After all this time, I now see my friends in a different light. I realized with a smile that what they were doing to themselves are the greatest gifts they can ever give themselves... HOPE.



Hope of finding the elusive one, Hope of one day feeling what is true love, and hope of attaining happiness in the end. The scars that they got for all the times that their hearts were broken now look so beautiful coz these streaks are the symbol of their fight, their fight for love. I don't have scars to show off but now is always the right time to start. I'd rather be broken but whole than to remain whole but is still broken for by being broken is what makes us whole.

To all my friends, thank you for helping me for in you I found myself.

The Fear and Courage of Loving


For a while, I was surrounded by friends, fun, and laughter.

I thought I was satisfied with the life I was leading.

Then one day, you silently walked into my life.

And made me realize the One thing that I was missing...



I never thought you would be able to open up

The very last thing I made sure would stay close.

I never even expected you to scratch the surface

but you did more than that, you did a lot worse.



You dug deep into the very heart and soul of me.

Slowly melting the ice along the way...

By God, I tried everything I can to resist you

but I just kept falling in love day by day.



You made me see the beauty of a red sunrise,

You made me listen to the music of the ebbing wave,

You made me feel the scorching sensation of the sun,

And you made me taste the magic that we call Love...



So now, I feel exposed and vulnerable

To all the heavenly bliss and the merciless pain.

For Baby, my heart is under the power of your hands

To do as you please, to follow as you want.



But inspite of all these uncertainty, my love

There is one thing I surely know I'll do,

I would bravely face the unknown of tomorrow

Just to spend a few more moments with you...

Postscript

I wrote this during the summer of 2004 dedicated to my last boyfriend who taught me a lot of things. Anthony, thank you and may you find happiness...

Why?





Sometimes we wonder why we feel the things we feel,

Why we get hurt ..and why we heal..

Sometimes we also ask ourselves, what is love?

Is this love? Are we capable to love?

But only the echo of silence answers us

and the slow hushing sound that it does.

Yet, we stand up, walk out the door,

and face the world where people cry for help

...but no one hears.

The Girl I See in the Mirror




Simple yet complicated

Plain yet attractive

Subtle yet intense

and most of all,

An illusion but real.

--- Did you get it?

August 3, 2007

My first day in the Lion City




Between a dreamless sleep, I woke up at 7am, looked out the window, and was surprised that the streetlights are still on and the sun has just peeked out of a cloudy sky. After a split second, I decided to go back to sleep. When I finally opened my eyes and dragged my heavy weight out of bed it was midday!

I ate my lunch at the same cafe/restaurant I went to last night and to my shock I found out that my Coke is as expensive as my food! ( I guess I have to cut down on my favorite soda for now) After a hearty meal, I leasurely sipped my precious beverage with a few sticks and started looking around.



My first day in Singapore! But after the thought faded, I felt I wasn't just miles away from home. The place just looks like Manila albeit way much cleaner! Then I started noticing the people. My dearest friend Joey popped into my mind after seeing several Chinese looking fatherly figures ( Joeyboi you'll love it here! hehe ).

I proceeded to walk down the streets under a drizzle. It felt kind of weird not seeing a jeepney zoomed by.

After aimlessly walking for a few meters, I went inside an internet cafe and to my utmost happiness, it's a SMOKING establishment! I then found my haven (I can surf, post my blogs, write and check emails, watch videos, drink, and smoke in one place! All that is missing is a bed then it would be like my good old room in Cebu!).

I started invading the cyberworld and was immersed into it in no time! When I checked my watch, four hours have gone by... (by the way, every heart satisfying hour cost S$3. Wow! Happiness doesn't come cheap here, although their can of Coke is FREE!)

Before going back to the hotel, I decided to buy a cup of spicy Korean noodles which has been my favorite back in the Philippines at the worldspread "Seven Eleven convenience store". I spent my second night which is sadly a Saturday, stuck in my hotel room watching Oceans 13 with a cup of noodles as my dinner and smoking to my hearts content while my sister and the rest of the pack are out having their kind of fun...

This is the first of the many times that I start to miss my pals in Cebu...