MANILA, Philippines — I have no idea what had gotten into me. Maybe it was the rain or the slow ballads that I had been listening to the whole day. I was feeling a little down again, thinking about my childhood and the idea of talking to a shrink came up again but the idea…
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…
I was drinking the other night and in between gulps of beer and shots of tequila, I realized that I still had not blogged about my birthday. I turned 26 last Tuesday. I have been busy. Yes, I quit my full-time job two months ago. Yes, I stay at home, in front of my laptop…
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…
“What’s in Bulgaria that is well worth a visit?” I asked a friend when he suggested that I visit Bulgaria after telling him that my ultimate dream was to tour Europe. For the longest time, Bulgaria had no significance in my life. Back then this East European state was just another country to me. I…
She came walking slowly, sat next to me, and introduced herself, “Hi! I’m Astrid.” Her name means “star.” “I’m Yoshke,” I replied. Reluctantly, I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.” The whole thing was totally weird to me.
I’ve been very unhappy lately. (But don’t worry Shy Guy fans, it’s not lovelife-related, hehe. That aspect of my life is perfect.) One of the reasons is that my sister was diagnosed with a certain growth in her liver. I’m reminded of the time my dad experienced the same thing until his liver finally took a toll on him. And then, I’m facing a bunch of other problems. I don’t know. It’s that part of the year again when everything seems to be not going the way I want ’em to. And whenever I feel down, there’s only one thing…
It’s still so vivid. One evening in 2007, I sent him a text message, inviting him for a meetup at McDo Philcoa. He said, “Sure. What for? What up?” I replied, “I dunno. I just missed you.” A few hours later, I arrived at McDo and I saw him inside waiting for me. I had Chicken McNuggets. He had McChicken, large fries and large coke. He asked me how I was. I said I was great. He asked again why we were doing this. I told him I just wanted to bring back the old days — back when we…