Manila Chronicles: Ang Maging Babae

Dahil may event ang opisina at kailangang dumamit ng maayos, dalawang araw akong naghahagilap ng masusuot bilang wala akong makitang damit na magkakasya sa akin. Alam mo yung pakiramdam na masikip sayo ang medium pero maluwag sayo ang large? Yung hindi mo mawari kung magmumukha kang suman o parachute? Nakakababa ng self-esteem yun, hindi maganda. Tapos tatambad sayo sa salamin sa fitting room ng hindi pamilyar na lugar ang hindi mo maunawaang hugis ng iyong katawan. Parang kahit mag-isa ka doon ay nililibak ka ng mga anino ng imaheng dati nang humarap sa salamin na iyon. Kung nakakapayat lang ang inis, baka namayat na ako ng bigla.

Hinuhugis daw ng lipunan ang mga preference ng tao --ang konspeto ng maganda, ng maayos; ng pangit, ng nakakaasiwa. At ang maging babae sa lipunang punong-puno ng ganitong panlalason ay parang pagsasaksak sa sarili nang hindi mo nalalaman, ng walang kalaban-laban. Unti-unti mong kinaiinisan ang sarili dahil hindi ka magkasya sa inilatag na kaayusan ng lipunan.

Hindi ako magkasya sa sizes ng damit na meron.

Tapos maririnig mo ang boss mo sa kanyang walang kakupas-kupas na panlilibak, sa mismong gabi ng event, "Bakit ang taba-taba mo?" Ayun na. Para na akong pinagsakluban ng langit at lupa. Pero tuloy pa rin sa pagngiti hanggang sa matapos ang gabi.

Sa MRT, may nakahiwalay na sakayan ng lalaki at babae. Minsan, mas nakakamatay sumakay sa bahagi ng mga babae. Hindi nila pagbibigyan ang kapwa nila babae. Ang fierce!

At sa gitna ng delikadong sitwasyon na ito, doon pa talaga ako mahihilo bilang nagsisimula na pala ang buwanang sumpa sa pagiging isang babae ko. Wala na akong pakialam. Nagsabi ako sa katapat kong babae kung pwedeng makiupo dahil nahihilo na ako. Pinagbigyan rin naman niya ako.

Minsan, nadadaan lang din naman sa pakiusapan.

Date a girl who reads and writes

Liz posted an artix entitled "Date a girl who reads" in her facebook account and tagged me. I reposted it in my other blog 'coz Dusty Typewriter is getting really dusty nowadays, so para lang may post and because i like it. It was actually written by Rosemarie Urquico (dont know her) in response to a post by Charles Warnke, You Should Date An Illiterate Girl.

It was a good read, especially when you read it before, during or after the valentine fever, at syempre nakakarelate ako, char (coz I'd like to believe I am one of those who girls who read, hahaha! Sariling advertisement? Self-supporting? ) Sabi pa:

"Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

E di feeling ko ako nga yun! Hahahaha. Kidding. It was a really a good read.

Then one day, since the world is getting really small, someone commented on my post in Dusty Typewriter. She said she has her own response to Charles Warnke's You Should Date An Illiterate Girl (He's getting really famous, pansin ko lang... kaya I'm not gonna link his blogsite on this post. hehehe), and so I read it.

And my heart goes... awwww... I asked her if I can post this in my other blog (meaning this blog, hehehe) and she said okay. So I am reposting "Date a girl who writes" (although I think I am very much weirder than the kind of girl she's describing...so guys, date me at your own risk! hahahaha!)

______________________

DATE A GIRL WHO WRITES

By Jan Patrice

Find a girl who loves to write. She could be anywhere serene: on the bench, under the tree, on the beach, on top of the mountain, or on the fresh-cut grass field, for it is in those places that she could think better, and write masterpieces out of a paper and a pen. Catch her in the nearby coffee shop, sipping a huge cup of coffee and staring out the shop’s window; it is in those times that she would think about what lays ahead of her on the real world, about her characters, about her next novel. Spot her inside the public library, engulfed by tall bookshelves, trapped inside her own world. Notice how she flips a page of a book, lifts her chin up, and scamper away to find another book. She then walks, clearly entranced by the antiquity of everything that’s around her. She then walks, clearly making up stories inside her mind. Her lips twitch as she does. People look at her, but she wouldn’t seem to care. She has her own world with her – much better than what is laid on her table. She’s crazy, in her own kind of way.

Talk to her like any normal person would do. Ask her about her interests. See if she’s interested to respond to whatever comes out of your mouth. She’d be busy thinking at times though, about her next story, a topic, a blog post. A lot of things just pop out inside her mind like popcorn, but just go talk to her. Sooner or later, she’d realized that somebody is willing to listen to her chatter.

Ask her out on a date, because she knows what it means to fall in love, take risks, and get hurt. She knows how it feels, or at least how to fake it. She had been used to twists and turns –they’re already part and parcel of her system. The girl who writes has already been tested by time for she’d been slaying dragons and fighting in wars in her stories, together with the main character and everyone of the cast in the story. Date her for she had been the captain of a ship, the queen of her own castle, the pianist of her own concerto. She knows for it is through writing that she could express what she truly feels. She knows for it is through writing that she breathes and lives. Just take her anywhere. She’d see the good and bad side of things; she’s already used to them.

Try to understand her actions a few months later. She’s only concerned with how to change the story’s flow, how to surprise you as the story goes, and how to make magic out of mere words. The pen is her wand; it is through which that she gains access through her mind’s eye. Emotions are her vocabulary. Words, sentences, and paragraphs are her helpers. The girl who writes knows how to command them to do things, the way a hunter catches his prey. Stories and essays are her spells. She is literature’s fairy godmother. You, the man who reads, are her secret prince. Try to understand her as she lives on her ordinary life. Try to fathom all her words because she means it, but never get tired of reading her mind. Appreciate her passion. She knows how to please you through her words.

Give her time to pause, for she knows it’s the best for the both of you. The girl who writes knows where to insert the climax and where to put transitions. She knows how to iron things out. She knows when it doesn’t sound right, or if it would, how to make it better. Her sentences might “run on and on”, but never get tired of chasing her. She loves it when you brood over what she has written. She might not be an expert when it comes to syntax, but she knows how she’d deal her thoughts. Let her write, let her move. She’s just the girl who reads, the girl who doesn’t rolled into one person, and that somebody in between. She’s just a girl.

Date a girl who writes for she knows how to begin and end your love story. She had it all outlined in one of her sacred notepads, tucked within the deepest recesses of her bag each day. She still doesn’t know what the ending would be, however, for like a pen she’s just an instrument, guided by the power of a story left untold. It’s up to you both on how the story would go: you, the man who reads and her, the girl who writes. But most certainly, it would be another happily-ever-after.

Thanks for the inspiration, Charles Warnke.

Manila Chronicles: Faint

Last Friday, one of those typical Fridays. Bangag mga tao, mukhang zombie, agit na sumasakay ng jeep, bus, mrt.

Isa lang din naman ako sa mga bangag na mga tao kasi morning person ako, morning natutulog! :P So sa kabangagan, dun na ako napasakay sa pinakahuling bahagi ng tren, sa mga guys habang nagwowonder kung mag-i-intervene si kupido at dito niya isusulat ang aking kuwentong pag-ibig na alam nating lahat na sa pelikula lang naman nangyayari (Sabi nga ni KC, "it's not like the movies at all." hehe)

At syempre, hindi na uso ang gentleman ngayon. So tatayo ka lang din sa mrt habang nakikipagsiksikan. Pero in fairness, hindi ka naman susuntukin nung mga yun kung medyo nagpapasaway ka. Hindi katulad dun sa girls' section na parang mga amazonang susugod sa gera yung mga girls with all the matching stilettos and hand bags to go with the amazona look. Terrifying!!! Hahaha.

So yun na nga. Parang good mood yung mga guys, walang commotion na nagbabadya. May kumakanta pa nga e, at medyo feel na feel niya! Gusto ko siyang lingunin kung cute siya, kaya lang baka maamoy ko kilikili niya kaya wag na lang! Haha. Yuck!

At habang may mga ganyang tumatakbo sa utak ko, biglang may kakaibang nangyayari. May lalaking umupo na lang bigla sa sahig, malapit pa naman siya sa pinto. Una kong naisip, "Ah baka napagod lang siya kakatayo." Pero naisip ko rin, logical ba yun? Parang weird. Oo, napapagod din naman ang mga guys pero hindi naman sila mabilis mapagod. Naisip ko rin na baka may dumating sa kanyang masamang balita at hindi niya nakayanan. Yung tipong nakipagbreak sa kanya ang gurlfrend niya, sa text hindi man lang tumawag, tapos bukas na kasal nila, ganyan! Haha. So devastated siya. Feel ko naman yun talaga ang dahilan.

Maya-maya, sinandal na siya nung mga kalapit niya. Pinagpapawisan ng bongga si Kuya (actually mukhang bata siya sa akin, hehehe.) at namumutla. Maya-maya pa, ayun na! Nag-collapse na siya. Kamusta naman. Sabi namin, magsignal na sa driver para maitigil yung tren. E biglang nagkamalay na siya, at parang bumubulong dun sa tumutulong sa kanya na wag na at okey lang siya. Pinaupo na lang siya para hindi na siya mas mahilo pa.

Hindi namin tuloy alam gagawin. Naisip ko baka nagugutom lang si Kuya. Mukhang mag-aaplay kasi siya ng trabaho (all black ang outfit, may dalang folders, cute... :D) tapos dahil kakamadali nakalimutan na niyang kumain. O baka kaya siya naghahanap ng trabaho kasi malapit nang manganak yung misis niya (may nakita kasi akong ring pero nasa kanang ringfinger e, hindi ko alam, san ba dapat nakalagay yun sa left o sa right?), problemado, nakalimutan nang kumain. O baka napuyat...

Gusto ko sana siyang tanungin kung okey lang siya (obviously hindi siya okey) at i-offer yung oatmeal cookie na dala ko (ako na ang may baon sa laki kong 'to! Hehe :P) pero before pa lumabas ang mga salitang dapat itatanong ko to show my concern, biglang nag-auto-editing ako. Yung sasabihin ko sanang "Okey ka lang?" ay muntik ko nang maibulalas in KOREAN. Kamusta naman yun. Baka mas lalo siyang mahilo kaka-figure out ano yung sinasabi ko! Haha. Buti na lang may nagbigay sa kanya ng mentos, medyo nahimasmasan siya.

Eventually, bumalik na sa kanya-kanyang buhay yung mga tao. Kanya-kanyang baba sa mga destinasyon. At sa tuwing may bumababa, lagi siyang nagpapasalamat. Parehong Taft kami bumaba, pero feeling ko hindi talaga siya dun bababa. Paglabas namin ng tren, nag-thank you siya sa akin. 

Saka ko na lang siya natanong kung okey na siya. Okey naman daw siya.

Pero di ko nabigay yung oatmeal cookie. Buong maghapon ko tuloy iniisip pano kung mahilo na naman siya, kasalanan ko ba yun kasi hindi ko binigay yung oatmeal cookie ko. :(