caterpillar talk

home, for me, is a combination of a taxi ride, an airplane ride, another taxi ride, and a bus ride away from the dorm. last weekend, i headed for that destination with three bags bursting to the seams… TWICE.

now, the story…

going home is a welcome thought after five months of being away, and i was naturally optimistic earlier that day, which was last saturday. but lo!

the first leg of my trip went awry! the taxi ride from the dorm to the airport, which could eat up a little more than 30 minutes on a good day, took almost two precious hours. putik na traffic! why, oh, why.

by the time i arrived at the check-in desk, the supervisor wouldn’t let me in because “all seats have been taken”. apparently, they gave up my seat and the seats of all others who got caught in the @#$%@! traffic 25 minutes before i got to the airport. yeah, 25 minutes too late. parang kanta! buhay nga naman! my luck! the flight was scheduled to depart at 1:15pm and my taxi got free from the traffic at 12:50pm. like i had the choice?! oh boy. added to that, the 1:15 plane was the last flight that could take me to cagayan de oro that day. oh boy times two. i was really pissed…and at no one in particular. the experience was like an irritating déjà vu.

anyway, back to the story. there i was, suddenly feeling as if the entire world finally closed in on me but not quite. along with the other “latecomers,” i was advised to rebook. as i walked to the other building for the rebooking, i felt the weight of my bags. i didn’t realize how heavy they actually were until that time when i had to contemplate the sort of luck i was having.

at the other building, i had to wait for my turn before i could schedule another flight. in fairness, they have a nice queuing system… but being assigned the number 92 when they’re still at number 20 wasn’t something to be feeling nice about. i was hungry, i was tired, i was feeling drained, i was sleepy and i still had to wait before i could go back, despite my own liking, to the dorm with its deserted and loneliness-inducing sembreak atmosphere! some test of patience!!! after i informed some people about my weird luck, roommate’s text message came through to comfort me and to remind me that it’s a weekend. tsk. tsk. tsk.

i don’t know how long i waited for my turn at the airport’s booking office. it must have been quite long as i forgot about being pissed and eventually moved on to noticing how disgusting the airline’s lady employees’ uniforms look. (oh, the style was okay, but the cloth looked like it was ripped straight from some old table. hahaha.) their janitors’ uniforms even look better, trust me. by the time i got a rebooking and got back to the dorm, i realized that the traffic i encountered earlier that day cost me about PhP600 (about 200 for the taxi ride to the airport, 200 for the rebooking, and another about 200 for the taxi ride to the dorm.) i lost PhP600 and got nowhere near home. tsk. tsk. tsk. para na rin akong na-hold up ha.

i refused to be further put down for the rest of that day. after depositing my bags in my dorm room, i left for the mall, determined to relax and enjoy the rest of the day despite my sleepiness. at the mall, i splurged on food (yeah right! better believe this) and went to see sky captain and the world of tomorrow. later in the evening, i went to greenbelt with cinema buddy to watch run, lola, run. (naaaa… i didn’t spend the rest of the day trashing and throwing fits.) by the time we got back to the dorm, i only had about 2 to 3 hours before heading for the airport again. my flight was leaving at 5:10am, first flight to cagayan de oro. determined not to miss another flight, i left the dorm still sleepless at about 2:10am. by 2:35am, i was back at the airport and was welcomed by its misery-inducing atmosphere despite its state of the art facilities. i immediately checked in and spent the next few hours catching some sleep while waiting for boarding time. hmmm…i was almost home. gamay na lang kulang.

my plane ride was okay. it made me notice again how black the cloud over manila is. it’s a disturbing sight. shucks. i also had an aerial view of mayon volcano, with its almost perfect conical shape. actually the volcano stands out from the rest of bicolandia as it is the only mountain which looks symmetrical from above. by the way, i was given a window seat and the seats next to me were empty, so i had the three seats all to myself, bwehehehe… that made sleeping more convenient. i went zzzzzzzzz some minutes after we took off.

i arrived at cagayan de oro at about 6:20am. after claiming my bags, i went out of the airport’s arrival area and chose a cab to take me to the bus terminal.

just when i thought i finally ran out of my weird luck, the driver told me that the minimum fare’s PhP200! “taka ka lang! dili oi!” was my bratty retort. stupid driver for trying to make me stupid!

driver: lagi, miss. 200 jud.
me: hala! ayaw ko binuangi. taka lang man ka oi!
driver: 200 naman jud. magansi man mi kung mas ubos pa ana.
me: dakong binuang! ako pa jud imong binuangan. miski pag metrohan, dili jud na moabot 200. please beh!
driver: sige, sa lain na lang ka.
me: maayo pa, kay maglalis lang ta anang 200. taka lang jud ka.

and so, the driver, who insisted on carrying one of my bags despite my protests, led me to another taxi. upon dropping the bag at the back of the taxi he led me to, he said “miss, naa kay traynta dinha?” to which i retorted “para asa man ng traynta?” without answering my query, he walked away scratching his head. he must have finally understood that he couldn’t make me shell out money just like that. apparently, the thirty pesos he was asking for was for labor services. hello???! had he not stupidly insisted (much to my discomfort, by the way) on carrying the bag, i would have carried it myself! hay naku! an extortionist driver in broad daylight. first, he had the nerve to tell me the minimum taxi ride to the terminal costs PhP200. then, he had the nerve to ask for PhP30 for carrying a bag i could single-handedly carry. drivers like him ruin the reputation of cagayanons. shame! it was a good thing the other driver didn’t make me pay 200, even confided in me that 200 is really an exorbitant amount, and was even shaking his head when stupid extortionist driver asked me if i had 30.

a bus ride after that, i was finally back in iligan. 9:10 am. then, at about 11 o’clock, i traveled to lanao del norte with my family to visit my grandparents. i didn’t realize until then how weak my lolo gary has become. he’s weaker than the last time i saw him. he cried upon seeing me. he cried some more when he saw my other cousin whom he also rarely gets to see. seeing the grandchildren he rarely sees lately must really be too overwhelming for him. tears could now easily take over his once tough-looking façade. i hope he gets to live a lot longer. a kind great man like him ought to live longer.

how nice. that was the text message i received from cinema buddy after i informed her of me being sick and befriending the bed. looks like she’s right. as another friend would say, “you’re home, you’re sick. you’re… ”homesick”? he he he.” i think this must be due to the vitamins and the food supplements i have been taking in since i arrived home. somehow, my system is no longer used to them and must be adjusting this way. i’m sick. i’m sick.

my side of the room has this collection of blue and yellow post its, torn pages from a notebook, small greeting cards, and other what-have-you’s — almost all of which bear my roommate’s handwriting. you see, my roommate usually writes me notes and that’s something i really appreciate. she writes to tell where she’s going, who she’s gonna spend time with, what she’s gonna do, what she’s feeling, what she just learned, and the things that she knows i would want to know and be informed about (basically just anything under the sun which we both care about even if other people may find them super trivial).

last wednesday, october 20, she posted this 8.5″ x 11″ white bond paper on my cabinet door. her cool crayon marks said:

Why I like my roommate:

1. She’s smart and she knows it and she doesn’t brag about it.
2. She has a sense of space and respects it.
3. She has a sense of humor and shares it.
4. She has a sense of empathy and lets me know when I need it.
5. She’s nerd and weird and doesn’t make a big deal out of it.
6. She puts up with my sappy-ness.
7. She puts up with my fashion sense.
8. She puts up with my insomnia.
9. She sings songs with me and gets excited about it.
10. She likes Conrado and Ate Lourie.
11. She said she’ll get sad when i leave ahead of her…

naks. heartwarming. fun. worth sharing. perfect timing. a little bit breaking, too. it’s already the end of the semester. roommate and i don’t know for sure if we’d still be sharing room next semester although we’re both praying and willing we’d still be.

the note she left on my laptop today said:

our room now feels deserted, just like the rest of the dorm. i am alone as i type. roommate is currently in los baños for work. i may or may not see her before i go. i’ll be leaving for home tomorrow.

oh no. i’m not going to die. well, at least, not yet. i hope. i’m just going away for awhile, and that means i’m not gonna be able to blog…uh…well…for awhile, thus the title.

so now, i’ll just blab a little…

i just need to get some things done and then i’ll be spending quality time in tagaytay this friday, saturday and sunday. oh yeah baby!!!

-¤-

“Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he is Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red S is the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses the business suit, that’s the costume. That’s the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He’s weak, unsure of himself… he’s a coward. Clark Kent is Superman’s critique on the whole human race.” — Kill Bill, Vol. 2

photo from http://www.capedwonder.com

the superman is dead. ain’t that sad?

aside from being the superman that he was both onscreen and offscreen, i’ll remember christopher reeve as richard collier in that beautiful haunting love story, somewhere in time.

the cold nights are finally here!!! yipeee!! i already smell december is fast approaching. it’s really not too far!

my labpartner and i walked our way back to our dorm just tonight, and having been used to warm air greeting us everytime we exit our well air-conditioned lab, we noticed how cold the night air is. the outdoor cold seeped to our bones and made us shiver, but in a good way… yipee!!! gone are the warm nights!

and i now have a nice excuse to add more jackets to my collection.

but really…wow, i already feel december. i’m getting excited, i feel like i’m so happy!

~ Desiderata ~
Max Ehrman (1927)

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,
even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements, as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career; however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are borne of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the Universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be
and whatever your labors and aspirations.
In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be careful. Strive to be happy.

-¤-

i unearthed that old poem and put it here in my blog because…

today i finally stopped and made some serious thinking, err, reflections.

i realized i’ve been going, going, and going on for sooooooooooo long and i’ve done so many detours: i think it’s right to say that for years, i’ve been going in circles inside a maze of my own making. how stupid.

wait.

i’ve sensed that for some time now. i mean, i’ve long realized i’m always on the go but never really getting anywhere…and today is when i finally willed myself to stop and said, “owkey. val, enough of that. you’re wasting time by raking in so much from all over, and what for? you’re inviting crap.”

so now, i’m going to try my best at a new slate. God bless me.