Indecent Proposal

One of my all-time favourite movies ito. Starring Demi Moore, Robert Redford, Woody Harrelson. Bakasyon, walang magawa kaya pinanood ko uli ito for the nth time. I like this movie because of the many quotations one can extract out of it. Pinaka gusto ko yung sinabi ni David Murphy (Woody H) kay Diana (Demi M) in that scene where David signs and gives Diana the divorce papers. Sabi ni David kay Diana:

The things that people in love do to each other they will always remember and if they stay together it's not because they forget but, because they forgive.

Nagkakamali tayo sa buhay. Sometimes we hurt the feelings of our love ones with our stupid and immature actions. For me, forgiveness is truly the key. However, we should not demand for forgiveness. Although it is free, nonetheless, we should earn it.

My Unforgettable Christmas

Christmas 1982 o 1983. Di ako sure, but it was sometime when we all just graduated from college. Right after Christmas nagkayayaan kami ng barkada- ako, si JunS, Cune, at Rodel na umakyat ng Baguio at mag-stay doon for a few days. Hindi ako sure kung kasama rin si Benjie. Anyway, nag-bus kami from Quezon City to Baguio. Di ko na matandaan kung sabay kami lahat o sumunod na lang yata si Rodel. I think late si Rodel. Alam ko parati siyang late e.

Anyway dumating kami sa tutuluyan namin ng mag a-alas nuwebe na ng gabi. By the time na nakapag-settle in na kami, siyempre tsibog at binuksan namin ang Gilbeys na baon namin. Needless to say, nalasing kami lahat. At around midnight, lumabas kami para maglakad sa paligid ng compound, hoping to find others who are still awake like us. Wala kaming nakita kaya naglaro na lang kami ng taguan. We went back inside the unit at around 1am at which time nagsuka naman si JunS dahil sa kalasingan. Pero bilib ako diyan sa kaibigan kong yan. Kahit na lasing at nagsusuka, malinis at may-disiplina at hindi basta kung saan nagsususuka. May plastic bag siyang hawak at doon sumusuka. Kahit tulog siya, hawak pa rin ang plastic bag. Masaya ang barkada. Especially, the following morning recollecting our insanities the previous night.

Even today when we talk about that time in Baguio, it never fails to elicit laughter and transports us back to a magical moment in our lives when all of us were still single, fresh from college, mataas pa ang testosterone levels, looking for adventure. Ngayon malalaki na ang mga anak namin. Si JunS ay nasa Toronto. Benjie works in New Jersey. Ako sa Auckland. Si Cune at Rodel sa Pinas. To this day, we still hope to revisit Baguio, have a reunion and relive those moments.

Kaliwa ba o kanan?

Still on journeys, but of the literal kind. When one moves to live in another country, one of the first things he/she needs to adjust on is driving. Different countries have different traffic and road rules. Sa atin basta alam mong paandarin ang sasakyan mo pwede ka nang mag-drive sa lansangan. You don't really have to be conscious of the traffic rules. Pwera na lang kung may lispu sa tabi. Here in NZ, people drive on the left side of the road unlike in the Philippines where "keep right" is the rule. Medyo nakakapanibago nga sa umpisa.

I noticed people in NZ also adopt this "keep left" rule even when walking. Sa mga sidewalk mapapansin mo ang mga Asyano, lalo na kung baguhan sa NZ kasi madalas nasa kanan sila at sinasalubong ang mga tao. Ako nga mas madali akong nakapag-adjust sa "keep left" rule sa driving, pero sa paglalakad madalas pa rin akong gumagawi sa kanan. What's funny is sometimes yung kasalubong mo 100 meters away pa at nagkatitigan na kayo pero hindi rin niya alam kung sa kaliwa o sa kanan siya pupwesto. Para ba kayong nag-papatintero. Punta siya sa kanan, punta ka rin sa kanan. Kaliwa siya, kaliwa ka rin. Eventually you both end up face to face. In those cases, I just stand still and let him/her pass by. Pero naisip ko paano kung mag-stand still din siya? If that happens, I might just tell him/her: Sayaw tayo? (May I have this dance?)

The journey not the destination

Since I started my blog as a journey, I might as well continue with this theme. One of my favorite sayings is "It's the journey not the destination". I'm not sure where I saw it first but somehow this saying has been an important guiding principle in my day-to-day life. This has kept me in a positive frame of mind no matter what... I'm not worried about the final outcome as long as I do my best and enjoy the process.

Pagkahaba-haba man ng prusisyon,
sa simbahan din ang tuloy.

Yun nga e, bakit pa mag-prusisyon, di ba? Siguro para i-display ang bagong damit, makita ang barkada, masilayan ang crush. It's during the 'prusisyon' (the journey) when most of the action happens. Life is a 'prusisyon'. Napagod ka man sa kalalakad, napudpod man ang spartan mong tsinelas, pinag-pawisan ka man ng malagkit, magkapaltos-paltos man ang kamay mo ng tulo ng kandila, sana nag-enjoy ka pa rin.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step

My first posting. First step... Nothing much... Maybe next time...