From October, 2011

Twice I Heard Death

I was 10 when I heard it for the very first time. No one would look after me at home so my mother brought me along with her across the street to a neighbor’s. My mom offered a crying shoulder and a helping hand to the family. As she did some chores in our neighbor’s…

Tales from Behind the Wheel: Quick Lessons

I don’t own a car. To get from one point to another, I use public transportation, usually MRT and tricycle. Sometimes, I take a cab and when I do, I take the passenger seat. It has been a habit to engage the driver in a conversation for two reasons — so I won’t get sleepy…

The Paradox of the Freedom Islands

A month ago, if a foreign traveler asked me where the nearest mangrove forest lies, I’d probably tell him to take the bus to Quezon or fly to Palawan. If one asked me to take him to a place where he could go bird-watching aside from UP Diliman, I’d probably drive him out of the city to Pampanga. If he asked me to take him to a place where he could see dolphins, I’d tell him to head over to Batangas. I just didn’t know any place within Metro Manila where anyone could bond with nature. Recently, however, I learned…

Hot AND Gay

“What’s wrong with me?” cried Celine, a friend and colleague. Moments earlier, she mastered the art of using all the functional muscles on her face to signal that there was a hot, goodlooking male behind me. Drowning in excitement and a deadly sin, she watched the guy behind me like she was ready to mate. “Yeah,…

You Can’t Shoot What You Don’t See

I realized just how difficult it was to hold back a cringe when a cousin’s friend told me how she despised local films and television shows in general. I asked her why and all she could say was a very specific, “They’re just so bad.” I admit that many of our movies and TV shows are disappointing and some are downright disgusting. But I believe that we still have a lot of quality shows. I asked her which TV shows in particular she found unsatisfactory. She replied, “Our teleseryes are pretty bad.” “Which teleseryes?” I was curious. “Our teleseryes. All…