Driving with Miss Selly (part 2)

Had my first driving lesson today, courtesy of Dihya (my 2nd brother, who obviously does not value his life, else he wouldn't have agreed to teach me -_-'). We parked inside a Greenhills village (East, I think), so it would be relatively empty roads...

Dihya: Okay, so to make the car go, you step on the brakes, put the handbrake down, step on the clutch, shift to first gear, slowly step on ---

Me: Teka, teka! Step on the brakes, put the handbr --- ano ulit?!

Dihya: Brakes, handbrake, clutch, first gear...o, yun na muna! Ano ulit sinabi ko?

Me: Brakes, handbrake...uhm...uhm...*blinkblink* Ano ulit?

Dihya: I think I'll put on my seatbelt.

* * *

Dihya: Now try stepping on the clutch. Kelangan all the way to the floor yung pagtapak, ha.

Me: *stepping gingerly on it* It feels like I might break it...

Dihya: Hindi yan. Okay, can you press it all the way?

Me: I think I should move the seat closer to the wheel.

Dihya: Oh, okay, here. *helps me adjust seat* Is that better?

Me: Now I can't see the pedals!

* * *

Me: So while I'm stepping on the clutch, I slowly step on the gas to make the car move, right?

Dihya: Yes! But you have to slowly step on the gas AND gradually step off the clutch at the same time.

Me: Why, what's gonna happen if I press hard on both at the same time?

Dihya: Then the car explodes.

* * *

Me: Okay, let's try it na. *accompany words with actions* Step on the brake, put the handbrake up, step on the clutch, shift to first gear, step off the brakes and step lightly on the gas...and away we go!

*car makes revving sound, and gives a sudden jerk forward*

Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Dihya: Step on the brakes! Brake! Brake!

Me: Ahhh!!! Okay, okay, step on brakes and ---

*car starts bouncing*

Me: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! *steps on brakes harder*

Dihya: Step on the clutch! You're not stepping on the clutch hard enough!

Me: *stomps on clutch, car finally comes to halt* Oh, God, whew!

Dihya: You're supposed to step on the clutch all the way when you brake!

Me: Oh, really?! *lifts foot off brake* How was I supposed to --- *car starts moving forward* AHHHHHH!!!

Dihya: BRAKE! BRAKE!!!

* * *

Dihya: Alright, let's try it one more time!

Me: *grumblegrumble* Fine, fine. *does preliminaries, then steps on gas*

*car makes loud revving sound, and takes of like a shot*

Me and Dihya: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Dihya: BRAKE! BRAKE!

*car comes to a halt*

*stunned silence*

Me: At least I can brake now!

* * *

This does not bode well. -_-'

Driving with Miss Selly

A few occurences while getting my student's license at the Mandaluyong LTO today:

Girl Behind the Counter: Miss, pahingi po ng ID picture.

Me: Ah, sige. *search through wallet and hand over one*

Girl: *looking closely at it* Ikaw ba ito? Bakit ang iba ng buhok?

Me: Ah, eh...nakatali kasi buhok ko dyan eh!

Me: *thinking* Grade 5 pa kasi ako dyan eh! (this is TRUE :o )

Then...

Guy: Miss, pasok kayo para magpa-picture.

Later...

Queta: (our master chef who accompanied me) *looking at printed picture* Shobe, ikaw ba ito?

Me: Ha?! Oo naman, bakit?

Queta: Ang pangit eh, mukha kang kirat!

Me: Aaaaaahhhhhhh! -_-'

Well, I finally got a student's license. Next step is to improve brain-hand-and-foot coordination. Free rides for everybody pag marunong na ako! (well, those who have a death wish, at least :p)

Attack of the Emo's

Emo - short for "emotional"; current terminology for excessively feeling anything, but mostly that of sadness, depression or heartbreak; turns people into poets, composers or artists; extremely contagious; may also account for moodiness, violence or pessimism
*WARNING: In case you spot someone with a serious case of emo coming towards you, move away quickly. Very, very, quickly.

And I tried anyway. To get away, that is.
I honestly never liked the word "emo" because it sounds like something a drunk hippie would say. The vowel at its end always seemed in a 'hung' state. And why bother making up a new word when you could easily use "down", "feeling blue", or "wanna-rip-my-heart-out-painful" to describe your emotions? It just didn't make sense.

But lately, everyone's being feeling emo. On days when the sun's bright and shiny, but you feel like just curling up in a corner till the world disappears? On days when you long to express your mangled emotions in the form of a poem or song (no doubt filled with secret allusions to your loves, dreams and hidden desires)? On days when everything seems pointless, when you question your very purpose of existence?

If chocolate can't make a girl fall in love with it...
If we're reduced to making animal noises as expressions of love, lust and HD's...
If we talk about requirements and ideals about the One, only to make exceptions when we see a perfectly polished lata... I mean, someone we like...

It's called being emo.

*As you can see, I'm bordering once again on the topic of love. But of course, that's good for another blog entry... :P

Wanted: Grammar Lessons

Hi, viewers, need your sincere opinions, comments and suggestions on this. Really wished I was better at Filipino. -_-' Anyhoo, feel free to speak your piece (through YM, please---or leave a comment kung good! Hehe :) about anything under the sun, especially grammar in Filipino. Hehe. Here you go, enjoy. :)

Tsk. Malas.

Maaraw ang simula, maulap ang wakas. Sandali lamang, tila isang alaala na ngayon ang init ng sikat ng araw. Dumapo ito sa aking balat, malambing, mahaplos, walng katapusan.

At nakatingala ako ngayon sa langit, nagdurusa’t naghihinaing. Ito ang katotohanan ng isang kapus-palad. Habambuhay nababalot sa itim, ang kulay ng kamalasan. Habambuhay nabubulag, pisak ang isang mata.

Madalas sabihin na ang ulan ay isang pagbabago. Naglilinis, nagpupuro. Ngunit mga punyal ang bawa’t patak nito na pumapasok sa aking balat, nananaksak, walang kaawa-awa.

Maginaw, tila nilunok na ng mga hangin ang sinag ng araw. Walang dugong umaagos subalit lamig ang pumapasok. Lamig na kumakalat sa buong katawan, nadarama hanggang sa mga buto, halos magpatigil sa mahinang puso, nagpapalumpo sa kaluluwa.

Lakad lang. Tiisin ang ginaw. Ito ang katotohanan.

At dito na muna ako maghihintay. Hihiga’t susubukang kalimutan ang lamig. Titingin sa madilim na kalawakan, mamasdan ang pagtutulo, magdarasal na sumikat muli ang araw.

“Kuting, kuting.”

Ha?

“Halika. Malamig ang araw, at mahaba pa ang gabi.”

Dahan-dahan akong ibinuhat. Patuloy pa rin ang agos ng ulan, ngunit ang mga bisig na nakayakap sa akin ay umaapaw ng init. Malambing, mahaplos, walang katapusan. Isang araw sa tag-init, hitik sa pamumulaklak at kabuhayan.

“Huwag kang mag-alala, magiging mabuti ka rin.”

At sa gitna ng mga patak, sa halip ng karimlan, nakita ko ang mukha ng isang bata. Maamo ang mukha. Basa ang buhok. Pisak ang isang mata.

“Tara. Uwi na tayo.”

Itim na pusa. Sa kahit anumang sukatan, malas nga iyon. Pisak na mata. Kumpara sa karamihan, kami’y mga bulag. Iyon ang katotohanan.

Ngunit sa saglit na ito, sa pagitan ng malalakas na mga bisig, ang lamig ay nawawala’t napaplitan ng mahimbing na init. Na habang ang isa’y naiinis, umiiyak o nagtitiis, mayroon pang matatagpuang katotohanan na nasa kamay lamang ng mga nararapat. Ito’y kaakit-akit, ito’y kagiliw-giliwat kailanman ito’y walang pagmamaliw.

At sa munting sandaling ito, iyong katotohanan lamang ang tanging may kadahilanan.

Meow.

It's Not Easy Being Green

Today, my Saturday sore throat turned into a full-fledged cold. Send in the tissue.

My last illness was last January, the day after my birthday. It was amoebiasis, and now I know what hell in your tummy feels like. Imagine getting a blistering fever and going to the bathroom every few minutes (to crap or to vomit, take your pick), plus, eating food that has the consistency of cardboard and tastes like it, too. *shudder* In those times when Gatorade was my best friend and heaven was being allowed to eat a cup of white rice---well, I'd rather not go through it again.

It's not like I've never contracted the common cold before, but I wonder why now feels like hell in my throat and nostrils? Everywhere I sit, I end up building a miniature Smokey Mountain beside me - a pile of mucus-induced tissue paper. Gah. I hate having the sniffles.

And my voice! It's gone to the frogs.

Just awhile ago, I was even a little embarrassed to talk to the doctor on the phone. Thank God for people like him who understand patients with voices like the toad in the backyard.

"Hello, doctor?" (ribbit ribbit)

"Yeah, I'm sick." (*duh*...ribbit ribbit)

"What medicine can I take?" (ribbit ribbit)

"So I'm not *ribbit* allowed to eat *ribbit* fried foods *ribbit* and chocolate *ribbit*?"

It's not easy being green. -_-'

And Then There Were Three

Last Saturday, I promised to blog about this. So groupies (you know who you guys are), I'm not going to let you down.

It's Friday night, and normally, I'd post about my crises of the week, like my surprise Lit13 test or draining debate training, but tonight, tonight, let me speak about something close to my heart.

Hmm.. when you graduate from high school, the reality of it all doesn't hit you yet. You're going to college, leaving ICA for good, and some people you'll never see again. Maybe on that night, I didn't feel it as much as I should have. Graduation was simply a momentary separation, kind of like waving goodbye to your classmates at the end of a school day, knowing that you'll see them again soon. I guess that one of my biggest regrets is that through 4th year, I don't think I got to spend as much time as I would have wanted with my best friend or my barkada. Thank God Wyatt isn't leaving, but it's today that I really feel that my research group isn't complete anymore. :(

Last June, Resa left. I didn't realize it fully back again, probably because from a high school hangover, that it's simply the end of the day. Just the other day, as I was rushing to read some gay theories for Filipino, and I managed to encounter Resa in YM (thank heavens for modern technology! :), and despite the brief conversation, I was really glad to hear from her again. It made me remember all the good times and helpful talks we've had, and you can't imagine how much I admire her spirit and utmost brilliance. So, Resa, hang in there, girl, we'll be waiting for you when you come back. :)

One was bad enough. And today, I had to face it all over again.

TR always had the strongest spirit among us. So it really came as no surprise to me that she wanted to go abroad (Australia, to interact with the kangaroos ;p), attend a school without knowing anyone there, and going against her father's wishes. Tonight, despite her dad's still in-denial state, she's finally leaving.

As much as possible, I don't want to get sappy over her departure (but then, TR, you're porbably used to my drama, right? *winkwink*), but I really can't help feeling sad because of the spaces she's leaving in my life. Things like our Monday-Wednesday meetings or our Tiendesitas/MarketMarket shopping trips will always be fond memories. And the comfort I felt whenever I was with her is irreplaceable. She was sarcastic, and I'll never forget her dry humor, but I knew that deep down, she really cared. In other words, TR, you're really a softie inside. :)

I'm going to miss you, TR! Know that you'll do fine over there. Along the way, I bet you're going to learn a lot of new things, most of all stuff about yourself, and you're coming back here and you're going to amaze us all. :)

Sadness, yes. But as Kahlil Gibran said in his book, The Prophet:

"When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain."

And then, there were 3.

Friday Sabow-ness

*Word of the moment: sabow - combination of sabaw (soupy) and sabog (uhrm... blown-up? exploded? -_-'), 2 terms commonly used to describe a state of feeling confused, tired and lost; this new word is credited to my funky blockmate Sab :)

Some sabow moments with my block, only on Fridays:

Sasha: Let's fly! I want to fly!

Sab: ...And then I saw this HUGE chocolate donut, and it was calling out to me!

Je: (listening to Sab) Yeah, in this seductive voice: "You know you want me..."

Franz: "Soaring..." (with accompanying dance steps of High School Musical...)

Anne: (BIG grin) Hence, on! Hence, on!

Impy: Think, think, how to draw a perfect circle...

Sasha: I need a hug! Hug me!

Sab: Grabe, I'm sooo... sabow! Eheste... sabaw... sabog... ah basta sabow! (*thus, a new word is born!)

Me: I haaate Botany! *sigh* -_-'

See? Nothing but a normal, sabow-y Friday for a bunch of Comm majors.

Watch Out! -_-'

It's Friday night, and again, I came home late because I had debate training. It usually ends 6:30-7pm; Friday night traffic sucks, and tonight, the rain came out in full force. You can just imagine the looong car ride from Katipunan to San Juan. Might as well catch up on some zzz's on the way home.

Don't get me wrong, I'm actually enjoying adjudicating; no, this isn't a sarcastic remark, although coming up with wrong decisions ("wrong" as in different from my trainer's choice) does make me feel guilty and a little incompetent. No matter, that's what trainees do, right? And I can honestly say that whatever happens during training, be it confusing/weird/funny speeches, it never gets me in a bad mood.

So why am I so taray every Friday night, right when I come home?

I can't stand too much/ too loud noise; I can't stand slow-moving or slow-reacting people; I can't stand looking at my Botany lab manual for more than 10 seconds. And if I am confronted with any of the aforementioned, expect a short, clipped, biting remark or an annoyed gesture (usually consistent with carelessly throwing things across the room - this applies to my manual, btw). It's like encountering a got-up-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-bed PMS-ing teenager: You'd better get out of her way as fast as you can.

Maybe it's because it's the end of week. Maybe it's because I'm on the verge of a hell that's soon to come, especially when your schedule for next week consists of 3 tests and countless useless papers.

Maybe it's because I'm wondering (again) why I'm studying when all I really want to do is sleep and read romance novels.