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Saturday, March 16, 2013

February 2013

February of this year seems to be my busiest month yet. I met up with friends a lot, went to Hong Kong and explored some areas there on my own, flew to Ho Chih Minh, and got physically more active compared to previous months.

I watched 4 out of 6 movies shown during the Spring Film Festival at EDSA Shangrila Mall. I even accompanied an old man who seemed to me to be lonely. I asked about his wife and he said they used to watch movies a lot. It's all different now because his wife has become sickly and weak and so he now watches alone. At first I felt creepy but then I thought of my grandmother, I thought of the many old people left behind by relatives, neglected by their own children, alone, wandering, reminiscing those sweet old days... I thought of maybe in the future I will be like one of them, an old solitary woman, unmarried, with no child, companionless. Maybe it's the last thought that prompted me to stick with this man for one night and be his companion. I talked to him about the old times. Too bad I am not a fan of Elvis Presley, as he seemed enthused of the popular star.

I watched The Life of Pi with a dear friend at a time when I needed to keep my mind off a certain someone. We both agreed that 3D would have been a whole lot better. After the movie, we pigged out on gelato. It had been months since I last ate ice cream. Gelato is still a better alternative.

And with the same friend, I watched DUP's "Collection", a brilliant satiric play by Floy Quintos attacking the hypocrisy, excessive greed, materialism, and vices of the present-day society. This, in contrast with the pure Hermana who was all for the poor and the needy. Of all the plays I've watched in UP so far, this one is the BEST!

More friendly dates with my girl friends kept me happy on days when I was feeling down. I'm happy to be able to hang out with them. They have this amazing power to make me forget about that guy who flirted a lot with me and with whom I got attached to and found hard to detach from. And at present I have accepted that I was nothing more than a game for him. To be fair, I couldn't think of "us" either but still welcomed his flirting with much gusto. To be honest though I "considered" him, but after everything that happened, I know better. In fact, I think I may be committing a grave error. In my diary dated February 6, I wrote, "Upon careful examination, I think maybe I'm just obsessed with love. Or maybe just experiencing a thirst for love.", which, I know, is not fair to the other person concerned. One day in February, I reread his messages to me while on the bus and felt my heart constrict. I realized that he's one of the very few guys who seemed so simple yet who took the risk of being sweet to me, despite me being intimidating and all. Before the month ended though, I finally have gotten over him.

A day before the Chinese New Year, I went to Chinatown and was greeted by LOTS of people. The place has become a tourist spot with all the festivities in the area, made even more lively by the ubiquitous dragon dances with the sound of gongs and drums and firecrackers complimenting the smell of sulfur. Add to that the widely used color combinations of gold and red, lucky colors for the Chinese. I was in no mood that day and was annoyed that Filipinos go there to document rather than to actually engage with the place and the people.

Also this month, I went to Corregidor on a bus tour. It wasn't at all the tour that I wanted. I was expecting lots of walking and hiking. Turned out to be just a boring bus tour. And so I resolved to myself to go back there and explore, as well as to spend the night at the beach. The tourist guide boasts of zero crime rate in the island. I wonder if it's true.

On the last day of February, I flew to Vietnam. Cebu Pacific still has the Valentine Promo. In addition to the two bagtags I won during my Hong Kong trip flights, I won a small netbook sleeve.

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