broadsheet

habang nagpapalipas ng oras kanina sa casa, naisipan kong buklatin ang isang broadsheet sa aking harapan. nagkataon naman na nasa ibabaw ang society pages kaya ito ang una kong kinuha. di ko ine-expect na pagbukas ko pa lang ay makikita ko ang isang larawang magpapaalala ng mga pangyayari tatlong taon na ang nakalipas.

***

bente-kwatro pa lang ako 'nun at trentay-dos naman siya. nagkakilala kami sa isang bar sa makati ng minsang sumama ako sa ilang kaibigan sa kanilang quiz night. gwapo, matangkad at maganda ang pangangatawan kaya naman madali ko siyang napansin. bukod pa diyan, member siya ng isang team na kasali sa quiz night. perfect, sabi ko sa sarili ko.

nagkataon naman na kilala siya ng isa sa aking mga kaibigan kay na-introduce kami sa isa't isa. nagtanguan kami at ayos na sa akin 'yun. sa hitsura pa lang niya, alam kong mahirap abutin ang kanyang level.

pero sa hindi inaasahang pangyayari, nakuha ko ang pansin niya. 'nung magkaroon ng audience participation ay ako ang itinuro ng aking mga kakilala. inihanda ko ang sarili sa tanong ng emcee.

who is the only british prime minister without a wife?

nagulat ako sapagkat hindi ko masyadong kabisado ang history ng britanya. gayunpaman, pinilit kong mag-isip. teka, mukhang trick question to, sabi ko sa sarili ko. 'yun ang isa sa pambato ko, medyo matalas ang analysis sa mga bagay-bagay.

margaret thatcher, kampante kong sagot.

napansin ko na lamang na nakatingin siya sa akin habang nakangiti. marahil naisip niyang hindi naman pala talaga ganoon kahirap ang tanong. tumango siya at nagtaas ng kanyang wine glass.

lumapit siya sa akin ng matapos ang contest. nakipagkwentuhan tungkol sa ilang mga bagay-bagay. marami kaming napag-usapan sa maikling panahon ng aming pag-uusap. nalaman ko na galing siya sa pamilyang ang linya ay nasa real estate at wala sa pilipinas ang kanyang mga magulang. sa makati siya nakatira pero tuwing weekend ay dumadalaw sa kanyang lola na nakatira sa wack-wack. at isa siyang triathlete kaya pala talagang maganda ang kanyang pangangatawan.

lampas hatinggabi na nang inaya niya kong sumama sa kanyang tirahan. type ko kaya naman hindi na ko tumanggi. subalit sa pagpayag ko palang 'yon, may mas malaking bagay pa akong matutuklasan tungkol sa kanyang pagkatao.

pumasok kami sa isang building na malapit sa ayala avenue. nagulat ako sapagkat alam kong hindi residential ang gusali na 'yon. sumaludo pa sa kanya ang dalawang gwardya 'nung dumaan kami.

pagpasok sa elevator, nakita kong pinindot niya ang "p". may penthouse ang building at doon kami pupunta.

maganda ang tanawin sa penthouse niya sapagkat napapalibutan ito ng salamin. mula sa taas ay kita mo ang maningning na ilaw sa mga gusali ng makati. habang nakatingin ako sa labas, naramdaman ko na lamang ang pagyakap niya mula sa aking likuran. tinamnan niya ng mga munting halik ang aking batok. unti-unti na rin akong nadadala sa kanya at naramdaman niya ang aking pangininig.

unti-unti ay hinila niya ko sa kanyang kwarto. sa aming pagpasok, doon sa malapad na dingding ay nakita kong nakasabit ang isang malaking painting. nakasulat ang kanyang pangalan at sa ilalim nito ay ang mga sumusunod: president and chief executive officer, ****** group of companies.

nalula ako sa aking nalaman. hindi lang pala siya basta miyembro ng pamilyang nakalinya sa real estate. siya ang nagpapalakad ng kanilang kumpanya at siya rin ang nagmamay-ari ng building na kung saan ay naroon ako ngayon. hindi ko alam kung paano magre-react.

nais ko sanang magsalita pa subalit huli na dahil unti-unti na niyang isinara ang pintuan.

***

thirty-five na siya ngayon. hindi pa rin nagbabago ang kanyang hitsura.

conspiracy

what are the odds that you will meet somebody you know at boracay in an off-peak season?

true, it was a long weekend but still, the probability could have been so little. i mean, it's quite far away and only a few people would think of going there on november and just right after a big typhoon.

i therefore deduce that it was conspiracy from heaven. indeed, it was conspiracy that i have to meet an ex-boyfriend in boracay when i'm spending time with the girl i'm dating. and he's not just any -ex. he's lawyer-ex, of all people, who started hitting on me again right after our dinner a few months back.

and i even thought that one meeting would be enough to stir my vacation. but no! the odds are against me. for during our flight back to manila, the guy was sitting on my right with only the aisle separating us.

see.

i told you, it's conspiracy.

isang taon na pala

december na.

i did not even notice it. excited kasing masyado na magbakasyon kaya nawala na lang bigla sa isip ko.

when i was checking my posts earlier, i just realized that my blog has turned one year old already. funny. my "mainstream" blog was almost of the same age when i closed it. and to think that i used to be more serious with it.

i consider this one a milestone. maikli ang retention period ko kaya madali akong mainip at magsawa. and to be able to maintain this journal for a year is already an achievement for me. i just hope that with the past year, i was able to share the lessons i've learned with life, love, and anything in-between.

sabi nga ng blog ko, what happens next?

fact is, i still don't know. but that's the best thing about it, not knowing what lies ahead. it makes us look forward to the challenges of tomorrow, each day arming ourselves with experiences and lessons we pick up along our journey.

as for me, i decided to live each day at a time. tama na muna ang sobrang pagpa-plano. gone were the days when i will be laying down my options five years into the future. it's time for me to enjoy the fruits of that phase in my life.

buwisit, tumatanda na yata talaga ako!

and to all of you who endured my (senseless) rants, thanks a million. rest assured that john stan will continue to impart his wisdom and his chismis even on the most trivial of things.

for now, let's all celebrate the life that keeps on getting better and better.

of racing and running over

it was my trainer's fault. he kept on bugging me to join official runs in the last two months. i was telling him that i was nowhere near ready for such and in return, he made me do every running-related exercise in the book not to mention the gruelling dynamic stretches in-between. and so, every time a marathon schedule approaches, he'd insist that i try them and get a feel of how it is to be a runner.

well, i had my chance last november 22 at the botak paa-bilisan road race held at the fort. since it was my first time, i decided to run the 5k race. my trainer would have wanted me to try the longer 10k but i declined since i don't intend to disgrace myself yet just in case something, uhmmm, humiliating happen on the road.

the results were in already late last week but i just got back from my vay-cay and were only able to see it this morning. interestingly, i was so close to my estimated time and i clocked my best so far for 5k.



i find it funny that in the list, my name is succeeded with "27 m b male". parang introduction lang sa mirc.

on a different (and yet) totally related note, i ran over a lamp post last night on my way home. geez, i guess, running is really getting into me. ugh.

monsters among us

as of press time, fifty-seven bodies were already recovered. some of them mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, colleagues, friends. and the whole nation grieves for their death.

***

Mangudadatu said the body of his murdered wife had been horrifyingly mutilated and that his dead sister and aunt had both been pregnant.

"We can't call him an animal because I have pets and they are tame. No, he is a monster. They are monsters," Mangudadatu told reporters, referring to Ampatuan Jr. and his gunmen.

"My wife's private parts were slashed four times, after which they fired a bullet into it," he added.

"They speared both of her eyes, shot both her breasts, cut off her feet, fired into her mouth. I could not begin to describe the manner by which they treated her."

***

the perpetrators do not deserve to live. for no reason is enough to take someone else's life. but this time, i say these people deserve to die.


for their mere acts prove that monsters do exist among us.



credits: inquirer.net