Over a nasty hang over…

(7th January 2007)

I woke up knowing that early part of my sleeping (or how it came to be) can’t be put into logical patterns. There was a lapse… I was drunk. I woke up with the young people looking at me with concern. I winked to confirm my being undead… I stood only to rush to the nearest coconut tree. I dumped all the solids that I munched on the night before. I rushed to the toilet to dump more of the liquids taken. I was truly wasted.

The first words uttered was “history is made… it is my second time to puke after a drinking spree”. The worst is yet to be. The dismantling of my innards just started. The microbes in my tummy revolted. They shouted freedom and rushed outside. Even a good cold mineral water was refused entry by the newly recruited vigilantes.

I slept and never allowed myself to move for fear of another rising foment, of having more revolutions rushing out. I continued that way until I went home. There was Beng, a youth leader who was really at my side taking care of me.

At home, I sought refuge to my room only to visit the comfort room. I slept until my state of euphoric inebriation went down. My first solid food was taken in at 5:30 PM. It was also the time that I asked for a good massage and a soothing vaporizer. It was another time to sleep.

I was woken up by a rainy Monday. I decided to take a morning off. I had an extended sickness. It was a chance for me to mull things over. A review. Why do people get drunk? It is when they get overconfident. I drank too much. I did not eat a decent meal before that (a good sandwich was what I took the day before --- hmmm would that count?). Yes, I overdid it.

The Ordinary

In my current world and 'life' we tend to work for the ordinary people but we keep in mind that our output should not be less than the ordinary. The ordinary people deserves more than what has least been delivered to them. They deserve all the attention that we have in the service.

These created tensions and a countless worries on my part. At times, I wondered how the masses also appreciated and valued the work we do. I know for a fact that very few people cared on what measures we make or approve. It takes a lot of time for the impact of our work to sink in and stir public support or uproar.Another 'ordinary' created a lot of excited and elicited much of attention last week. At least in my island, people were so much up to it. It was the installation of the local ordinary of our Diocese. The only line that caught me so much during his canonical possession was “and now the Ordinary is walking to his Cathedral”. It is an ordinary that is formally addressed as His Excellency…

This thought struck me too much. Greatness by a lot of people was attained because they were so ordinary. Jesus for one drew multitudes of crowds because he is an ordinary doing something excellently. How can this ‘greatness’ be translated into the delivery of services to the people? How can this sensitivity be transferred to many systems and institutions that shout so much of mechanical services and pale much in terms of human heart? (I am not exempted from this righteous question)

These contradictions led me to look into the present Advent. While many people wait for the countless parties and lavish gifts that they have to give away, countless peoples are waiting in vain. They wait in hope for the impossibility to be gone. May joblessness be taken away and the suffering be erased. May the mothers of the disappeared be reunited with their lost sons and/or daughters. When would despair face the transformation of bliss and joy?

spin the bottle

There are games that we have to play inorder to spark a party or a conversation. We did it again and thanks to the reliable bottle.

Weekend at boca del cielo's

It was a hurried weekend. One that parallels the traffic inside the shopping malls. Christmas season is almost here.

I had another schedule and that is to be with friends, enjoy the Cathedral of stars and hear the unadulterated laughter and fearless discussion among friends. We converged at Doljo. We groped through the dark shores and hoped that the slimy crawling creatures chose another sandy shore to be at that time.

It was a decision to be there. I could have slept at home and just forget about everything. However, the events of some people withdrawing support from our much prepared manifesto was not just a headache but caused heartache from me.

So, I went out to my solace, my oasis. I was with friends who will soon leave the island to be with their families in their respective lands. I was with people who can intelligently engaged in a soulful conversation or crack a very funny joke at a blink of any anatomy...

Early morning, we discussed criminal law thanks to a party crasher who thought very less of the Filipinas who joined in the party. The men at the party were incensed and howled in protest but we toned down the situation saying that we will just tell the necessary feedback to the barangay.

We gleefully asked for G.... to be patalsikin... It was a mantra and a competition as to who can give the best punchline among us all.

We had a good time. Perhaps, it was also because it was a despidida of sorts to all of us. We have our own journey to do and a moving on to encounter.