:: Tears of the Moon ::

:: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 ::

Herb!
It was a relief to see and talk to Herb again, after years of not seeing each other. Well, not really. We always bump into each other at events. It's surprising, really, to realize we both still have common interests. We met up last Sunday for breakfast, which became brunch.. and had a movie. So, I literally spent the day with her.

Found out she won a three-year scholarship to Japan (again), after the 3-month thing she did a couple years back, and the return trip that she did two years ago, which lasted about 4 months. Apparently they were so happy with her work she's been invited to finish her doctoral stuff there. On Japanese art, as relates to the Japanese people, culture, and economy. Quite a lot, considering. She also does art and copywriting for ad agencies, and is fluent in conversational Nihonggo.

I don't think I've ever talked to someone that fast in years. It comes with meeting with kindred spirits, I suppose. I *missed* her so much. And she's leaving for the 3-year stint for Japan in April. Which means by the time she finishes she'll probably not work in the PI anymore, but in the States. Aside from my sister, there are so few people I know and have in my life that I can connect to that way: to the level where the jokes are understood, even we haven't seen each other in a long time.

So, we'll probably see each other again, one of these days. Definitely before the year ends.

We watched Brothers Grimm. I'm happy to say that it was so horrible it was funny. It was like a bad - VERY BAD - fanfic. What a waste of investment on Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, and the production cost. Oh, and Monica Belluci was there too. Total waste. But, fun for laughs. Definitely not for children.

Work.
When has work *not* been crazy? I think this time around I've been overwhelmed. I need to breathe.

Quarter-life Crisis, and the return of Snarky Kitt.
I'm starting to feel it again: the surge of nastiness that always comes at the advent of my turning one more year. In sum, I think New Deep was a good theme song: I noticed people seem to 'like' you more, the more you dumb yourself down. It's a weird realization, but there ya go.

I've been thinking of picking a new one for next (maybe Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield?). Acie, in her efforts to make me more 'presentable' to guys, has told me that I should probably be more (get this) submissive. This is the second time she's used that word as a 'helpful guide' for me to be more 'marketable'. I was like, "Dude, look. If that person liked me for when I presented myself as less than me, then they didn't like the me that I really am in the first place." It annoys me to no end whenever people tell me that I'm too 'intimidating'. Or maybe I should 'tone down'. Wtf? If people liked me for less than what I am to begin with, it's not worth it. They didn't like the real me.

What, so if I read books, have a big vocabulary and discuss movies and music in depth, I'm a pariah all of a sudden? Should I start learning to smoke to socialize now? Or learn how to drink so that people think I'm 'cool'? I really don't think so. Although I must say I *look* more presentable now (I think - coz Herb made an aside on how I could look so fresh in the morning post-shift), owing to my sister's self-imposed mission to make me fashionably acceptable ("Being fashionable never hurts" or somesuch).

/rant

:: D said @ 8:06 PM [+] ::
...

Me, enjoying the view and the sound of the waves.

The journey is a destination in itself.
There were about twenty-five of us who went. I took a ride with Marco, one of the coaches, and we made it to Iba in record time (three hours, which is somewhat unheard of given that we didn't know where the place was, it was rainy, and we took off in the dead of night). Marco drives like a madman, so we made it in time.

The drive alone felt like an episode ofr The Amazing Race: Harold and Mel weren't answering their cellphones, the only instructions we were given were to drive to Subic. When we hit Subic, we call Harold and the guys who were already there. The night before, we all thought we'd be going to Nueva Ecija instead. But due to some complications, the plans were changed at last-minute, and we went to this other place in Iba. How were we to know that Iba was about seven towns away, and an hour's drive on top of getting to Subic? On the way, we were joking, "Okay, we look for the red box with a stripe in the middle.. we'll see a tree with a message telling us to look for the blind man to get directions to the next pitstop.."

Good thing Mark was in our ride, coz Marco treats his car/s like babies and each bump earned an epithet. Every unknown kilometer that we took felt like Marco was gonna explode. Very temperamental, that guy. So, Mark kept a running commentary that kept us all in stitches.

Three supervisors, two coaches, one trainer, and a dozen agents - most of whom belonged to the newer batches. Not a bad mix, considering, coz I wouldn't have known them had I not gone to the trip. So, all in all, not bad.

Harold and a couple guys went ahead, so we got there and they picked us off at a dropping off point. We parked and waited for them at a Municipal Hall, and I jumped off for a bit to join as much mass as I could at the local parish just a few steps away from the parking lot.

Just a few words about the little church: it was old. And given that the mass was at 6am, there were about two dozen people participating already. I felt a sense of jumping into a slower time, a more relaxed pace, in that community. It was a sleepy town near the beach - one of the ones affected by lahar, I suppose - but time and old ways still went on. Old ways such as mass at the break of dawn, families going out and Sunday being a family day. It was relaxing just to get there. Ces went in din pala, and had mass. We both stepped out when they texted us that Harold and the rest were there already.

The resort was tucked away behind trees and rice fields. I really didn't think that we would even see the beach; we've been looking at rice fields, mountains and trees this entire time. The resort was small, but nice. And since it's off-season, we had the place to ourselves.

One thing I can say about beach-going during off-season: the place is deserted, and the weather's cool. I really didn't like going to the beach during summer because 1)it's insanely hot, 2)the sand feels like it's being melted into glass, 3)traffic to and from the place, 4)it's crowded. While going to the beach right now means that you have the place to yourself, the weather's cool, and the water's clean.

We were all tired to some extent, so everyone had a couple hours' nap in different intervals. None of them were as heavy drinker as Harold was (unlike Jojo, Ross and Nimfa, who could match him bottle per bottle), so we weren't able to finish everything.

Truth? Dare?
At night, it rained, so we weren't able to use the bonfire we had ready. I brought along candles which they used instead, and peanuts (which everyone forgot, I think. Trust the sober ones to think up beer-peanuts, lol).

When the rain stopped, the skies cleared, so I went off to one side and stargazed for a little bit. I went to the group sitting near the campfire, who were in the middle of a truth or dare. Was interesting to see the guys being told to streak (my, what buff bodies we have! hehe), and the girls being made to kiss either the men, or beer bottles.

I chickened out and took Truth. The question was pretty easy to answer. I just took a bit of time replying coz I didn't have anyone in mind re: who in the office do you think is hot? Who would you want to have sex with?. Harold was getting nervous coz he was the one crushing my fingers and I wasn't yelping even if my ring was cutting into my fingers and all of them were already being bent to a scary angle.

Stargazing.
Saw Saturn again, and the night sky. Was saddened because the stars I was familiar with weren't there are all. The night sky felt alien to me, but comforting. It's been a long time since I laid on the ground and looked up at clear night skies. Given that it's the rainy season, it was doubly rare. There's something to be said about stargazing in the beach with the waves forming as your ambient sound. I must've been tipsier than I thought coz I also imagined what it would've been like if a tsunami hit while we were sleeping - wtf we'd be dead before we knew it - haha.

Heading home.
Swapped with someone to hitch a ride with Margot, who lived just a few kms from me. Four hours riding with disco and hiphop fans. I was tempted to bring out my mp3 player but I'd come off as antisocial. In any case, disco and hiphop sounded good with roadtripping (although it didn't prevent me from stepping off the car reeling from disco music. I was desperate for some rock). I got home at around 4pm, and went straight to bed after washing my face.

:: D said @ 5:43 PM [+] ::
...

I'm back!



It was a welcome break. I am relaxed, refreshed, and absolutely revived.

It was funny coz the moment we got there, the lot of us pulled up chairs against the beachhouse railing, and put our feet up to enjoy the view and listen to the waves.

We didn't rush to the beach, didn't grab cold drinks, or even eat breakfast. We all went to grab a good seat with a view to the ocean.

I didn't know if it was the season, or because it just rained, but the waves were big and rough. You can't really swim in it - you can jump in and sit to be taken away by the waves.

At night, we had rain. Rain + sound of waves crashing against the shore = priceless.

:: D said @ 4:28 PM [+] ::
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