Beautiful Strangers

During my flight to Tokyo last summer, I met Rina (if I remember it right); she occupied the seat on my right. She's working in a cruise ship in Venice and she's on her way there. I even became her watchman when she slid the airline's pillow into her bag. Haha crazy, I know.

Then when I was in Tokyo Tower, I met a fellow Filipino who's touring with his American bosses. He said they're in Tokyo for a seminar and that day was their free day.

When I was at the boarding gate for my flight back to Manila, I met a twenty-something Filipina in black, whose reason for filing a leave in her school in California was her father's death. I was dumbstruck. I can't find the right words to say, so I just gave her my condolences. She even told me, "See you na lang, whenever. Enjoy your flight." with a smile cos we needed to part ways for our seats were far from each other. 

During the flight, I had a forty-plus woman for a seatmate. She was from Canada and she said the airport where she came from was very cool. We had a little chat while eating the complimentary ice cream from JAL; she was like my mother in the plane haha. And she was amazed that I was a college undergrad then; she thought I was a brave high school student who's travelling all by herself.

A typical Monday afternoon, I was travelling to Los Banos cos my classes for that certain semester don't start until Tuesday. I had a seatmate and he started telling me stories when he was still studying in UP Diliman. We even talked about frats. He had one at law school.

Sometime in November last year, I was walking along Greenbelt 3 on my way to my Jap school when my sandals broke. The guard from Hermes was kind enough to let me sit on his post. He even helped me fix my sandals, it didn't made it, though. A classmate from the same Jap school whom I barely knew then ( I just got her number the other day), fetch me with a pair of Hello Kitty slippers in hand she bought at Ministop cos it's only minutes before nine in the morning and the malls were still closed.

And last Monday I met new strangers courtesy of my friends from Jap school. But now they're strangers no more. We're even Facebook friends now after sharing a sumptuous lunch at Mesa and coffee at CBTL haha! Hello ex-strangers! :)

I may have no luck with boys, but I got lotsa luck when it comes to strangers coming my way. May the good heavens continuously bless my path with them beautiful strangers. :)

Step Beyond Gender

My former college roomie, Ezra, asked me to design a shirt as a requirement for their Social Science 3 subject cos she thinks I'm artistic! Haha funny! I don't even have Adobe Photoshop installed in my laptop! But since I'm bored out of my wits, I tried. TRIED, okay haha. The theme is gender equality, by the way. :-)

She chose and printed the second design, Step Beyond Gender and she'll wear it on their mini "fashion show" on Monday. Yay! This may just be a speck a naked eye can't even see compared to what others have done but for me, it's something. Even the smallest thing for me is something all the freaking time guys haha. Ahh I'm just glad I said yes to this! *dance* :)))

Before Sunrise

I was intrigued by a screen cap in my Twitter feed. And that curiosity led me to watch a 1995 film, Before Sunrise. It took me only 30 minutes to say that I love the film. The lines are superb, I don't know, I just loved  the whole strangers-getting-to-know-each-other-in-a-foreign-place thing. Maybe the hopeless romantic in me's to blame haha! Most of the film was shot in Vienna, which for me, is a plus (cos I wanna go there someday). :-)

So here are my favorite lines and scenes:

This poem was done by a man whom Jesse and Celine met on the streets (?) in exchange of money.

Daydream delusion, limousine eyelash

Oh baby with your pretty face

Drop a tear in my wineglass

Look at those big eyes

See what you mean to me

Sweet-cakes and milkshakes

I'm a delusion angel, I'm a fantasy parade

I want you to know what I think

Don't want you to guess anymore

You have no idea where I came from

We have no idea where we're going

Lodged in life, like branches in a river

Flowing downstream, caught in the current

I carry you, you'll carry me

That's how it could be

Don't you know me?

Don't you know me by now?

Jesse: You know what's the worst thing about somebody breaking up with you? It's when you remember how little you thought about the people you broke up with and you realize that is how little they're thinking of you. You know, you'd like to think you're both in all this pain but they're just like "Hey, I'm glad you're gone". 

Celine: You know, I have this awful paranoid thought that feminism was mostly invented by men so that they could like, fool around a little more. You know, women, free your minds, free your bodies, sleep with me. We're all happy and free as long as I can fuck as much as I want.

Celine: I always feel this pressure of being a strong and independent icon of womanhood, and without making it look my whole life is revolving around some guy. But loving someone, and being loved means so much to me. We always make fun of it and stuff. But isn't everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more?

Jesse: And it's not just a fear of commitment or that I'm incapable of caring or loving because... I can. It's just that, if I'm totally honest with myself I think I'd rather die knowing that I was really good at something. That I had excelled in some way than that I'd just been in a nice, caring relationship. 

Celine: If there's any kind of magic in this world, it must be in the attempt of understanding someone, sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed, but…who cares, really? The answer must be in the attempt.

I just find this scene very cute. ♥

Jesse: I feel like this is, uh, some dream world we're in, y'know.
Celine: Yeah, it's so weird. It's like our time together is just ours. It's our own creation. It must be like I'm in your dream, and you in mine, or something.
Jesse: And what's so cool is that this whole evening, all our time together, shouldn't officially be happening.
Celine: Yeah, I know. Maybe that's why this feels so otherworldly.

Jesse: And I think that's so true, I mean, all - everything is so finite. But don't you think that that's what, makes our time, at specific moments, so important?
Celine: Yeah, I know. It's the same for us, tonight, though. After tomorrow morning, we're probably never going to see each other again, right? We, maybe we should try something different. I mean, it's no so bad if tonight is our only night, right? People always exchange phone numbers, addresses, they end up writing once, calling each other once or twice...
Jesse: Right. Fizzles out. Yeah, I mean, I don't want that. I hate that.
Celine: I hate that too, y'know.
Jesse: Why do you think everybody thinks relationships are supposed to last forever anyway?
Celine: Yeah, why? It's stupid.

Ahhh. I can't wait to watch the sequel, Before Sunset, maybe tomorrow. :)

Adrenaline

I've been waiting for this event for so long that not even a runny nose was able to keep me from going! Haha! Maybe I just miss the party nights during my undergad days in UPLB. And besides, my college academic organization is a member of Biology Majors Alliance of the Philippines (BMAP), which makes me a member of it, so might as well give my all-out support and enjoy the night away at the same time. The event was held at Area 05 Super Club. As for the afterparty, my orgmates and I went to Music 21 Plaza Timog for some more booze and karaoke!

Teaser from BMAP's  Facebook page

At Music 21 Plaza. Booze and crispy pataaaa! ♥

UP Cells orgmates :)
Grabbed from Macky's IG

Grabbed from Macky's IG

Walked out of Music 21 sleepy and sorta voiceless but I had fun! Til next time, BMAP and Cells! :)

In a Flash

The shortest month of the year happened by, well for me, in a flash. If I were to summarize the whole month, it would be: Vday, UPLB Feb Fair, almost four days of toothache, a trip to my dentist and Friday or Saturday night hang-outs with friends. What about the more or less remaining 15 days? I don't know either. Haha. But  I'm glad I get to cap of the month with my family. Unusual though cos we spent the afternoon of the last day of February at a memorial park cos it's my deceased aunt, Tita Luzette's birthday.

I never got to meet her. She passed away when she was five, when dengue wasn't that a household disease and had no immediate cure. I always wondered what it would be like if she was still alive. She was the youngest in my grandparents' brood of five so maybe, just maybe, we would really be close, like her older sibling, Tita Nalu, whom I'm very close with and is more like my second mother. However, I know that Tita Luzette's in a happy place now and she'll always be in our hearts.

The memorial park was quite peaceful when we got there. Far from the noisy and tent-laden park during the first of November. Ahhh it was such a good day. :)