Months, And Counting!

Part of our deal was to explore and dine in (affordable) restos around Dumaguete City once a month during our Friendsary. My close college friends/publication buddies/medems and I started celebrating our one-of-a-kind friendship February of this year. The idea surfaced when we were lying inside our almost-shabby-but-still-manageable-greenish tent, gazing at the full moon. It was supposed to be a celebration of SAD or Single Awareness Day. Guess what day it was! Yeah! February 15, a day after the world celebrated heart hearts or Araw ng mga Puso. In English, uhm, uh…yeah, I remember. Valentine’s Day. So it all started there.

We only see each other once a month now due to our busy working schedules unlike in college wherein we see each other almost every day. They both work night shift on a “kewl” call center in the city while I teach in our municipality, about 29 kilometers away from the Negros Oriental capital. And we make sure we arrange our meeting on a weekend. If the 15^th of a particular  month falls on a weekday, we only send greetings to each other and then automatically make plans for the upcoming weekend. On that particular day, we make the most out of our bonding. We eat, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk (insert choking and laughing at the same time here), and the best part—take groupies! ^_^

Sometimes, it’s okay for people to be away for a while because you will have something to look forward to; and the excitement that tags along with it will never fade. It is on that day wherein you hate to see each other part but you have to because you know that although you will miss them, you will definitely see them once again soon.

Like all other friendships, ours wasn’t also perfect. There were misunderstandings and mistrusts. There were Indianan moments and ruined expectations. There were away-bati episodes, just like all other friendships. But I personally thank God because He preserved this relationship. Sayang naman ang pinag-samahan, the years we spent together, and of course, it’s hard to let go of people you love so dear.

Cheers to our friendship! Cheers to all our friendships! May they last a lifetime!

Bubbles in the Wind

The past few days have been silent episodes of my existence as a self-confessed chronic blogger. Lately however, as I scanned through possible Youth Bible Study Guide materials, I came across two lovely poems written by names I never know. So yeah, their God-inspired poems are worth sharing.

Bubbles in the Wind

By Robert R. Hostetler

Sometimes, Lord, my faith seems

so fragile.

            Like bubbles in the wind.

They sparkle with transparent

color

            and wobble in the wind,

                        frail and fine.

I want to be strong, to feel in

control.

But then

I remember

            it’s their delicate weakness

and their utter surrender to the

breeze

that allow bubbles in the wind

to fly.

Untitled

By Gulsvig

Feeling desperately alone

Yet not knowing why

And not really wanting to try

To know the reason

Yet still farther

Down in the corners of my mind

Is a question

Wondering why

I still feel it slipping away;

The cold north wind

Blowing through my soul,

Right through to my heart

Piercing it and what?

One drop appears

Falling slowly

One crimson drop

…’tis my Savior’s!

pulp credits

Where Are You Now?

I’ve been thinking of you.

I used to have you. I used to enjoy writing because I know you will be there. I was so dependent on you. But then one day, when I thought I kept you well, you just vanished. I cannot somehow figure out what I did to you. You just left without telling me. You left silently, like a purple-colored sunset which tucked itself unknowingly into the gigantic cotton balls of the skies. I was despondent. I shall not give up though. I will have you back. I will have you back. As to how you left, that shall be how I shall get you back. Dear creative juices, where are you now? I shall find you and I shall have you back.

 ***

I thought I was successful when I told myself to stop thinking about you. I wanted to remove that part of my hippocampus which holds all the memories of you – your face, your smile, your voice, your scent. But when I feel like I have moved on and have put the past behind, people and circumstances seem to tell me otherwise. At random walks, I meet people who look like you or who wears the same perfume as you do. Even random talks or random situations remind me of what we used to talk about or laugh about. Once upon a time, I thought I’ll never dip myself into melodramas again but that once upon a time has come to pass. Dear special someone, where are you now? Are you tired? ‘Coz you’ve been running through my mind lately.

***

Let’s just call it complicated, but I really think you have got my attention. For so long, I haven’t seen you. We’re mere acquaintances and perhaps this feeling I have for you is a mere infatuation but I really strongly think that you’ve met my standards. I’ve prayed for you at times and even daydreamed about the possibility of you liking me back. It’s a far-fetched thing with a 0.0000001 percent chance of becoming true but who cares. It’s my daydream anyway. As long as I won’t know that you already have a girlfriend, I shall hold on to that 0.0000001 percent and shall continue to pray for you. Dear crush, where are you now? I want to see you smile at me again.

***

And you! You make people think you are so important. Congratulations! You are successful on that note. A lot of people love you. A lot of people dream of you. A lot of people kill for you. A lot of people think you are everything. You are a bully, a deceiver, an enslaver. But I have to admit that I need and want you, too. That does not mean I will be your slave. I need you because the world lives for you. Since I am still in this world, I have to conform and use you. I need you…very badly! Dear sweldo, where are you now? Gusto ko nang kumain ng French fries.

Where are you now? I’ve been thinking of you.