Brightside Entry | Stop, Look & Listen

There are a lot of good things that happened to me today and leaving any of them out seems to not do this day justice. On one hand, I'm exhausted because I haven't gotten any decent sleep recently on account of always having somewhere northward to head to. But on the other hand, these adventures are definitely always worth it. 

Today, I headed to school to give my friend Akire her advanced birthday gift (since it's already "sembreak"--which is like, a mini long weekend, really) and hang out with Lorri. Usually, hanging out with people stresses me out or scares me just because I always feel like I have to be on guard but today was very nice. :D Lorri, Joelle & I had a very nice conversation about dear friends we lost and about how life goes on and how we deal with things and strangely enough, about Ursula's fetishistic movements + Jafar's odd sex appeal. :) We hung out at Exile on Leon Guinto, which is quickly becoming my favorite place to sit outside in. I've always been a fan of al fresco dining but I really like the chairs in their garden patio thingy. Plus the kitty there is adorable. Before Lorri & Joelle (and the rain) arrived, I was sitting there with my fill of calamansi iced tea, reading Looking for Alaska and enjoying the sunshine. It was such a pleasant afternoon, it was really difficult  for me to leave.

It's a good thing I did though because it really started to pour when I got on the jeep--a few minutes later and I would've been drenched head to toe. Oh, Manila; you tease me with sunshine and then pour water on my head. Another great thing about today was that while waiting for a bus along Osmena, I saw this old chinese-looking man who was wearing a crisp shirt tucked into slacks and suspenders. He was walking toward the bus stop, holding an umbrella and paused as he tried to get on the sidewalk. The way he walked and dressed reminded me so much of my dad. He stopped and tentatively raised his leg, as if testing whether or not he could get onto the sidewalk. And so I reached out my hand and helped him up. He gave me this huge smile and said "Thank you," so sincerely that part of me wanted to give him a hug. I really hate seeing the elderly ladies and gentlemen commute because they remind me of my parents--and even if we have our disagreements, I think my parents have worked hard enough to deserve to at least travel comfortably. Life isn't easy and so I really hope that dapper old man today was able to catch a ride where he got to sit down. <3 p="p">

I hope everyone's doing well today! We're halfway through this week! Woot, woot.

Brightside Entry | The Lovely Pain of Laughter

Today I had lunch with two of my friends, Lorri & Joelle at Exile (yes, Akire if you're reading this, I went back and ate my weight in shittake mushrooms--I had the Fourshroom Pie + wasabi mayo appetizer thing; also the waiter was looking for you asan si ate? hahaha). And we spent the entire lunch hour talking about our crazy friends (and lovers, who are friends both with all of us and each other) and the things they do that make them so lovable/goofy. We also talked about how we're all secretly hipsters and it's so uncool to be cool to be uncool--oh, fuck that. :))

Afterward, my stomach hurt not just from being uber full but also from laughing so hard. I enjoy these conversations very much because I find that there aren't a lot of people who can make me laugh. I have to agree with something my friend Sulky Ron told me once, "Laughter is divine." My highschool literature teacher (who is by far the best teacher I've ever had the pleasure of learning from, I think) Ms. Ella also told us during one of the lessons where she made us watch a couple of The Simpsons episodes that "Laughter is also a measure of intelligence." And I agree. Laughter is just as profound as sadness.

And while most of the things I've ever written (short stories, etc.) indicate otherwise, I think that happiness, laughter can resonate just as strongly as sadness. I find that our generation tends to get so caught up in the loneliness that we feel keeps us from what we want to do--we are both self-entitled and whiny, which doesn't make for a lot of productivity or happiness--that we forget to just do things that make us happy; we forget that outside of the internet or video games or shopping, there are people. 

Lorri and I were talking about our tendencies to become reclusive and while I agree that it's okay to give yourself space to breathe sometimes, I don't believe that locking yourself (myself, I mean) in your room is the way to go. Today was a great day for me and I think it's because I've (for the meantime) stopped living in my head. I went out and got things done--sent packages, packed parcels, hung out with friends, delivered packages--and that isn't always the easiest thing in the world but by no means is that a very big problem. I want to get rid of this odd self-entitlement that I find so many of us have: I don't deserve this job, I should get paid higher, I didn't even want to be taking this course, I only settled for this situation, I'm a (insert accomplishment here) for crying out loud. 

I have this theory that people never settle for anything, really: they do what they want and when they're no longer happy with that they say that they settled. And I don't want to be one of those people. I want to take responsibility for my life and my actions and my relationships and friendships. :) And laughing out loud with Lorri & Joelle was definitely a good start; thank you girls for the lunch! Today was refreshing. :)