By Yoshke Dimen

Tales from Behind the Wheel: Scary Rides

I’m always afraid to take a cab alone. I just don’t feel comfortable being alone with the driver and the  hold-up stories that I have been reading online are not at all calming. But it cannot be helped sometimes. Whenever I do, I take the passenger seat and start small talks with the driver just…

A Sharp Memory

It was a weekly event. Every Saturday morning, all the kids in the neighborhood, including myself, gathered at the living room of my grandfather’s house to watch Maskman (a Japanese Super Sentai series similar to Bioman and Power Rangers). Just like every other kid there, I grew up in a poor family and my grandfather…

The Waterfall

There was a tired silence  lingering inside the van as we pressed the side of our heads on the glass window. Silently we admired the view of the many breathtaking places in Mountain Province as we drove from Sagada to Banaue. The hills, the hillsides, and the terraced hillsides; the mountains, the mountaintops, and the…

The Promil Kid and the Bottled-up Secret

The oil on the pan was barely heated as I was cooking lunch when I heard two voices coming from one corner of the kitchen. It was my now 8-years old nephew with Min-min, a second cousin and his constant playmate, talking about something that he was preparing. “Don’t tell anyone, Min-min,” said my nephew…

Abandoned Dreams and New Found Being

A bittersweet smile cut across my face earlier as I browsed photos of my friends from the Foreign Service on Facebook. Four years ago, I was with them preparing for the series of the toughest exams, providing moral support to one another, sharing stories of excitement, fears, and dreams. While I am happy for them…

The Elbow Fight

From the moment I laid eyes on him, I called him “the Stranger.” There I was, seated next to my mom at the pre-departure area of a flight to Singapore, and my eyes were glued — no, nailed — to the face of the Stranger. I didn’t know what it was about that man that…

Beautiful Stranger

“Keep the hat,” suggested the Caucasian man standing next to me. I was looking at the mirror, trying to decide whether I should ditch the hat I was wearing that night. “You look great, don’t worry,” he complimented. It wasn’t long until I noticed that he was handsome, sexy and — wait for it — shirtless. We were at the restroom of a bar in Boracay. Realizing how sleazy it appeared to have a conversation inside the restroom, I replied with a simple “Thank you” and walked away. On our way out he asked me where I was from and…

Media These Days and Christina Aguilera

Media these days. I don’t understand the hate and shade that have been thrown by the entertainment press towards Christina Aguilera. I know that media thrives in controversies but I can’t believe they will go this far or this low to spin stories or create something out of nothing. It is absolutely disgusting. Take a…