Reflections

We went for a night swimming. My friends and I enjoyed the cool breeze of the starry night in Alroa (that's the name of the resort). Well, I did not exactly go for a dip but as I said I enjoyed the night and the thought that I was out of home. I rarely get out of the house since vacation started. I just don't know but I was actually afraid of leaving home after that 'incident' that happened a week ago. It frightens me til now. Having survived that, I believe it was kinda life changing. It made me change the way I look at my life now. It feels weird but I really enjoy being at home, with my mom and being alone with myself. But I had to admit that it is suffocating at times. I need to get out to breathe some fresh air and enjoy a refreshingly new environment. I believe that everyone of us, once in our life, well, maybe more, experiences that kind of imprisonment. We feel we are being burdened by our loneliness, that it is okay to be alone. But hey, one day, we will wake u...

Far from the things I used to do, far from the people I used to meet, far from the fun I used to have...life can be quite difficult. I keep on longing...longing for things to turn up the way it is. But that would never happen. In a world where everything evolves, anything can happen. Apparently, things come unexpectedly. It is not how I wish life would be but how should I go with it. Life is a current. Go with the flow. It leads me to my destiny. Whatever, whereever, life beckons me to move on... As I trod the path of my destiny, there are things that remain as they are. I may not always have them around me. I may not always hear them, talk to them, have fun with them but I know that no matter what my destiny is they will always be there for me. Some things last for good. And this is how I measure my treasure. They are my treasures. Life depends on them.

It has been a long a time since then. But I could still recall the details of each encounter. I could still hear the sounds of laughters, of fun, of talks. I could still describe the petty quarrels, the misunderstandings, the disagreements. Those were the days when we walked through our destiny...when we beckoned each passing moment to hurry up and make us see what awaits us...when the days seem restless and unnerving. Those were the times when I had no one but the friendship I had with you. You stood by me no matter what took place. You were there in my most trying moments. You were even willing to take a few steps behind just to make me shine and give that one moment I had with my dreams. And then alongside with me as I traveled through failures and successes. Days went on and with it we moved altogether to grow in knowledge, in learning, in friendship. Not a day would pass without saying how were we. It became a ritual, our ritual. It was those rare things that I surely long from so...

Today I went with my friends at the beach. Three of them celebrated birthdays and I decided to be with them. It was really my first. It was a small contingent of Filipinos here in Penang. Most of us met after hearing Mass on Sundays. It was my intention to have fun and since there was nothing to do (it was holiday because of the Chinese New Year) going to the beach and swimming would be a good alternative. An eye opener it was for me. As I talked and mingled with each one, I felt I was reading from my school books. I learned so much from them. Each story told was something for the movie. Well, it felt though I was listening to narration of real life stories on the tube. There were so much to admire from these men and women considered modern heroes of the land. They endured the loneliness for being separated from their loved ones. They braved the strangeness of a different environment, of an unknown culture, ofracial diversity. Life maybe difficult here but to them it is a promise of a ...

1985. That year, young ladies and gentlemen fresh from high school came together in that corner of the university. Everyone was a stranger. Each one was a mere face to another. There was no name yet. There was a blank wall separating one from the other. And yet each one was seated side by side. There was an eerie silence roaming around the room. Though there were voices hovering and small talks floating, yet still there was an unknown silence. Days moved into weeks. Weeks into months; months into years. As days passed by, each person also passed by into our lives. Enriching each life with their stories, experiences, triumphs and failures. We all moved together. As we moved towards learning and knowledge, as we journeyed through life's discovery and exploration, we found each other. We learned and appreciated our differences, our foibles, our uniqueness. It is in our diversity that we came to accept our own, our strengths, our limitations. As we grew into maturity, as we traveled on...

A friend and a colleague invited us for a dinner to her place. I was really excited since it would be my first. I didn't know how they celebrate their New Year. I just read somewhere that the celebration of the Chinese new year has begun a long long time ago. So in their calendar it is not 2006 but something like 4 thousand whatever. Food of course was the reason we were there. At the table there were traditional Chinese cuisine. It was neatly arranged. Then our friend put some grinded peanuts and cinnamon into the one at the center and told us to mix them up. As we mixed she also told us to roll it as high as we could. I had fun doing it. It was a tradition and whatever the meaning of it, I might not understand or know. It was delicious. Then I several servings of the various dishes in front of me. But what I enjoyed most was the circular revolving tray at the center. While it revolved it played a soft music. Amazing! I just thought I want one of that. However, it was an antique p...

It was around 7 in the evening. I was at the office checking my mails. My handphone rang. It was Arthur. He was in Japan. Trembling my body was. I heard that voice after a long, long while. I expected the call. He told me through email that he would call me by Sunday. In fact, I waited the whole day. I thought he never would. He said he could not connect. I gave him the wrong number or the wrong country code or the wrong...oh I don't remember, everything seemed perfect. Don't get it wrong. It was a Sunday. I read at Mass. After the mass, I talked and mingled with my friends. I met some familiar faces and some new ones. It was fun. Then, I learned that I would be reading the sermon (homily) on the third Sunday. There would be no mass. Priests will be going on a week-long retreat by then. There will be just a special service. I was happy and honored. On my way home, I met some Malay. I cannot talk their language, they cannot talk English. But we talked. Friendship (in whatever fo...

I had not known you that well. My memory of you goes back to our high school days. We sat beside each other and exchanged a few chat at times. Silent as you were, you just stayed there in that spot of the room. Your world was limited to that space unmindful of the chaos around you. I remember you as a soft-spoken and shy person. But there were times that we told stories about ourselves and things that only few people know about us. We seldom went together and had no chance of spending time together except in class. During sophomore (or was it the junior year?), I seldom saw you. And we were not that close to really bump into each other. I knew there was something wrong but young as we were I did not know how to care about other's feelings. Insensitive as I was, I never nurtured the friendship that supposed was ours. I believe that you were a friend only that we did not have the opportunity to really get into it. Times changed. Now that we cross our paths again, may the friendship o...

Time flies by without us noticing it. I still remember when your little boy was still that, little. You used to tell me wonderful things about him, how cute he is, how clever he is, how easily could he adapt to his environment. Now, you tell me things different from what you used to tell me. It is an indication that things changed. And really things changed, may it be for better or for worse. We used to hang around town together. We enjoyed just roaming around for no purpose at all. We just found joy in the silence of the night, and our voices and laughters would be the only sounds the night would hear. Friends would see us, dogs would bark at us, the night would be deep in slumber, yet we were still together. It seems the times would not end. And the next day, we still would be together. How funny those times were? Remember how happily we ate bitukang manok in that nook of the street, siomai , flying saucer in Everybody's Place, halo halo. Yeah, Everybody's Place...good memori...

I do not know how it all started. But you were there in the class anticipating for my coming. As I started the class, you saw me. Impressed by the things you heard about me, you strived hard and did your best. Apparently, I noticed the potential in you. You became part of the team which I groomed for mathematics competition. Since that moment on, we were inseparable. Perhaps that was when it all began. Without you knowing it, I admire you for being such a strong and determined person. You are someone I hold in high regard. Young as you are, you know how to make others feel good about themselves. You are an ear when I need to be listened to. You are an eye when I need to be affirmed and recognized. You are a hand when I need it the most. But above all, you are a heart when I am lost and lonely. During my high and low moments, you were with me. That no matter what comes into my life, you give me company, a shoulder to lean on, someone to walk with. Among the thousands of students I have ...

We have been friends since our university days. We have seen life's ups and downs. We have been through a lot and life's better because I have never been alone. Friendship is not defined by the number of letters you sent, or the volumes of photos shared, or the messages received. Friendship is in the heart. It is created by the moment you found each other, the moment you unknowingly agreed to be with each other. You never told me to be your friend, neither did I. But fate would have it and we never realized that our friendship blossoms into something beautiful and I am thankful for that. The days have turned into years and time has not mellowed down to us. We remain to be friends. Vividly I still remember, and I'm sure you do, the four of us: Margie, Predes, you and me. What better way to recall those days than remembering us? One of the most memorable moments (there were many, actually) I had with you (and I hope you still recall) was during graduation day at PICC. Since m...