Blue Thumbs

(Our badges of honor.)

You probably aren’t interested about how long we stood in line, or how bad our “lumbar area” (c/o Tim) felt after a while, or how amusing it was to see people uniting in riot (okay, so it wasn’t really a riot. Just a civil complaint against people cutting lines), so I won’t bore you with it. Um…except maybe that last bit about the riot, but later, later, my dear.

Last night Ryan texted me and asked if I’d go with Tim and him to register. He plans to leave at 6AM because “3 am may nakapila na raw =s” I didn’t mind. It was about time for me to re-wind up my circadian rhythm anyway. So I agreed.

Today I woke up at about 5AM, snoozed (twice, 9 minutes per snooze) until I couldn’t afford to snooze anymore and took a shower. I wonder why they invented snooze in the first place. It’s not right. Afterwards, I had about 15 minutes left to fix breakfast. Let me tell you a secret.

Onion Omelette

 You need about half a big onion and a scrambled egg. That’s an okay ratio.

1.       Slice onion into thin wedges.

2.       Toss into a hot pan of oil. Wait a little and then

3.       Pour in eggs. (It would help if you add salt and pepper into the scrambled egg beforehand.)

4.       Flip. Voila.

How about that? Simple yet unbelievably delicious and healthy. (Mum taught me it.)

So anyway, before I could finish eating, the doorbell rang and I had to go. I left the rest for mum. (Later she texted me and said it was delicious. See? You must try making one.) Ryan was driving. Apparently, he is also pro-Erap. I don’t know yet who to vote. I used to like Chiz, but I realized too that I hardly knew anything about him (must gather intelligence).

The Comelec people were nice. I felt like they especially stored up extra patience in preparation for this day. The first one I met called me Darling. Another one called me Popo (actually, that wasn’t very nice, but I don’t think she meant anything). Most of them smile a lot and joke with the registrants. Ah, the Philippines.

Later on, we saw Wendy with her sister, Wynette. It was very nice to see a familiar face amongst the strange hundreds.

While waiting in line, we met a certain Mr. Roy, who was waiting for his daughters to finish. He asked what Ryan’s name was.

                “Ryan Uy.”

                “Uy! Ryan Uy, okay yun a. Alam mo may kakilala akong technician na Ryan.”

                “O?”

                “Oo! Pag may idadala akong appliance sa kanya, sasabihin ko: Sira yan! Eto din, sira yan!”

                “Hahaha!”

Then he asked Timothy:

                “O, etong Intarmed, anong pangalan mo?”

                “Tim.”

                “Tim?”

                “Tim Lim.”

                “Wow, Tim Lim. You know there’s a TimLim between ______ and ______.” (Forgot what he said.)

                “Hahaha!”

Afterwards, Tim said he thought it was corny (woah!) Mr. Roy didn’t ask me what my name was, but it’s fine. He might not be able to come up with anything funny with it (except maybe Popo again, and I’d do my best to laugh if he did). He was a really nice guy. He taught us how to eat lunch properly while on a line, how to make a business out of the elections, how to tell if someone’s gay, why gays are good for his fruit business, etc., etc. Neat stuff. He was very helpful, too. A lot of people thought he was with the comelec office.

After a while though, people got a bit tense and jittery and were being unfair in the lines. Over the PA system, you’ll hear:

“Hindi po ito basketball na puwedeng magsubstitute. Hindi rin po ito restaurant na puwedeng magreserve…” Heehee.

Sometimes (or a lot of times, rather) they let people into the building (the one we were all lining up for) for no good reason at all. The woman behind me recorded those instances on video.  I pity the guard posted on the gate of our district. From time to time, people from the back of the line would come up to the front where we were and mob him with complaints. He avoided their eyes and responded only to well-meaning inquiries. Then the woman behind me threatened to expose the videos to news networks if he won’t stop letting illegitimate people in. The guard actually looked at me for support.

“Pinapapasok ko lang ang may stamp,” he looks at me. “Ipakita mo ung stamp mo, iha.”

That wasn’t the point the people were making. Because they were against illegitimate people entering, not legitimate people like me. So even though I put up my arm a little, nobody paid attention to me. I’m sorry, Mr. Guard.

To while away the time, we played mental HESIA (why was it called that again?) It was Ryan’s idea to play that. Then Ryan lost and asked us why we were playing mental HESIA in the first place. We also played “Guess What Animal/Person/Disease (c/o Tim) I’m Thinking Of.”

Answers were: Caracal, Michelle Abigail Tan, Mrs. Bautista, and Bulimia. Nobody got Caracal :(

All in all, it was an epic day. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Afterwards my sister texted and asked if I would accompany her to register tomorrow. I hope she’s kidding.

 

Wish You Were Here.

I like October a lot. Aside from my birthday being in it, this particular October has been pretty special. (And I surmise that it is God's endearing little surprises for me, for it being me birthday month and all that.) Hee hee.

I have a lot of Happy Days. Days I just can't risk forgetting and losing. And so, to share my happiness with the rest of humanity, I will ingrain it all in the immortal annals of Multiply. (Tumblr, originally, but they were down.)

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Life Goals.

It was last Saturday when finally, my Saturday morning class met its end. The CAD exam was easy (thank you, bloody CAD project, for sufficiently preparing me), and I left the hall singing and skipping ever so slightly.

I went home for a quick bite and met up with Mike for church. When we got there, lo and behold! There was Bernard with my skateboard deck! (Sorry for not honoring honorifics. I mean no offense. I am not very used to them.) I asked him if he could buy a blank deck if he sees one, and I suppose they have bazrillions of them in America, where he went. Hoho. One of them found its glorious way here, into the hands of a very thin, eager-eyed girl. Kaiser (my new wooden pet) will be out and about as soon as I find the proper parts, hopefully before the next year starts <3 Thank you for all who have been supportive of this (potentially crippling, but nonetheless) delightful endeavor.

I also discovered that the piano in C1C2 at church is very, very much like the one at home. Perhaps I can go up sometime (or many times) and see if the room isn't locked.

After fellowship (where we had this icebreaker sort of thing, and for some reason I cannot fathom, I was embarrassed all throughout), I decided to go home and have a better look at Kaiser. Sharon-tsi and and the other people were kind enough to accompany me and Mike over to the trike stop. They are all very nice.

So both of us were walking home when suddenly I saw this really fluffy thing on a leash, bobbing up and down.

A husky.

My heart always stops when I see one. I hurried to catch up with it and guess what: I GOT TO PET IT. I won't ever forget how it felt. The husky kept licking at me too. So utterly adorable. I spent the rest of the day grinning.

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You Gain Strength, Courage, and Confidence by Every Experience in which You Really Stop to Look Fear in the Face.

That's what Natalie-tsi quoted to us during one of our Leadership Talks (Fridays 7pm, in one of the Fellowship Hall rooms). I've always thought that if you wanted to see what fear looked like, all you had to do was to look in the mirror.

Not always, I suppose. Last Tuesday, it took the form of a monolithic, open air, public bus. (Not that I faced it head-on, or anything.) Me and Vanessa met at school (if I remember right, I only had my morning class, and we just loitered everywhere, met Don and talked about religion), and inevitably had to go home.

So, there we were, at the Philcoa stop. And there it was, looming towards us. Ill-omened, a dark cloud of despicable-ness trails behind. The noise of a thousand buzzards fill the street. We were going inside the creature's carcass. I exaggerate. We hailed it and climbed aboard.

I've never truly been in a bus before. The youth camp Island Adventure didn't count--that was a decent, well-scheduled affair. But this. The spontaneity, the sheer wildness of wind and inertia and metal and people looking at you and you not knowing where to sit when the bus is already moving at 70 kph..exhilarating.

(I rode the bus twice this week.)

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End of Semester Celebration.

Technically, I'm not done with my semester yet, but Vanny and I thought it would be a perfect day for a picnic.

October 16, Friday.

That day I woke up accidentally at 5 AM and saw that the sky was a bright aqua. It looked so alien, but I knew it was the same sky I've been looking at since I can remember. I tried not to go back to sleep because I wanted to remember how it looked (and I thought that maybe the sky swirls in colors when nobody's looking) but after a while it settled back into a normal gray-blue.

I woke up for real and got ready for my Russian exam.

It went great.

She brought picnic food and off we went to the spot I shan't be telling. (If you are curious enough, I can bring you there, but only if you ask nicely.) It had exactly the type of music I like (old) and it had cats. I felt that I could live there forever. We talked about God and how sometimes we get confused about what He really wants for us (I remember one time praying to God: I do not understand You!) and we added in absolutely anything that came to mind.

Then we went cat-hunting. But I'm telling you, they hide from me! :( All I wanted was a cat to bring home and love. Someday, cat, I will find you and you will be loved.

It was 4:15. Guitar lessons begin at 5, at church. We hurried home (took the second bus of my life, felt better) and got home at around 5. I was offering internal apologies to Lawrence, who was expecting us for the lessons, I think. Sorry again for being late. For some reason, I can't say it directly to you. And finally, we played a little Gymnopedie on the piano for Vanessa. She laughed at our efforts.

I accompanied Vanny to the trike stop, all the while singing Gymnopedie (she the left-hand tune, and I the right) and when she left I was left to sing it by myself on the way back.

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A Little Reunion, and a Seemingly Insignificant Witness.

After Leadership Talk that night, I went out a bit for a bathroom break before Bible Study started, and I saw my sister walk in the fellowship hall. I pinched her and she tickled me and I forgot when I saw her last (maybe that morning, but I felt it was so long). She dragged me here and there, and made me carry her bag, and I was just grinning all the while. When we parted, I saw the nice lady who works at the church smiling at us. It made my heart soar.

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I love October, and I'm glad there's still a little bit of it left.

Coincidence.

I took a bold step to the right and the branches sway.
They bow under the wind and under my weight.
The leaves riot in a warning as the limb bends.
It bends.
And it does not matter.
The wind meets me and the ancients offer me a spindly hand.
But I do not take it.
Instead I try to grasp at the wind and feel myself fall away--
Or rather,
I see the trees and field fall away as I am--in my astonishment--carried up and up.
(Like a balloon, except I wear a shirt, jeans, and sneakers. And I am oddly shaped.)

I see the cats on the red rooftops, with clouds in their eyes, thinking it was giant silver fish.
For how long I carry on like that, I do not know.
But it gets colder and colder until the roofs and the buildings turn into hazy little dots that fade
Out of sight.

Then the wind makes a dreadful mistake.
It stops blowing.
I tumble headlong down the sky --for I am not a balloon but a girl--with nothing to cling to.
{9.8 meters / second, theoretically, in a vacuum.}
As the blur of a world became more and more of what I knew it to be,
I close my eyes and try to think happy thoughts.
But all I can think of is dying.

It felt like a really, really long time.
Then I stop falling, just like that.

I look around and find myself still intact, standing on the pavement of an unfamiliar neighborhood just as you turn round the corner.

'Hey.'

I smile back and try to find my way back home.

An Account.

Outside, the storm rages on.
Loud voices (panicked or excited, I cannot tell)--they find their way into the room I am in and cause me to look down at the people milling about. The water rises and laps at houses.

I close the windows and draw the curtains down. The feeble light that persists through the dark heavy clouds are now but half-hearted shadows. Quietly, I close the door and sink into the old easy chair that my father loved.

Down I go.

I am sitting at the bottom of a great river. I hear nothing but the pockets of air as they make their way up to the skies. Above me, the river swirls violently; but here the currents are obliging. I curl up into a comfortable ball as the velvet seaweeds brush against my feet.

...

A nudge. Kind eyes look down at me and I knew then that things wouldn't be so bad.

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I must be regressing.