Made and Unmade: Equi (Part 1)

Things that made my morning:

1. Watching myself sneeze in front of the mirror. It amazes me how the human face contorts to make its wearer so repulsively cute. “huuuh … hu … hu … uh.a … a … ah-ts!”

2. Remembering the once famous expression “Anong petsa na!?” and realizing what it “really” meant now that I can speak tagalong. I recall with so much amusement how, when I was an hour late, my ‘babaeng-bakla’ friend Mina growled at me with both her hands on her hips, “Nung phe-chah na!?”

3. Catching the Road Runner Show on the tube and seeing my favorite cartoon character Wile E. Coyote in action. It’s been like forever that I haven’t seen his ingenuity. Ton, you have my minature Wile E, do take care of him while I’m away.

4. Cutting my chin with the razor and remembering my old roommate Anthony. He taught me to tear a bit of tissue paper and stick it on the lacerated area to absorb the blood. One time he forgot to pluck it all off and went to school with his face dotted with “small square-ish white thingys.”

5. Accidentally dropping my mug of coffee and shouting “Yati!” It’s a Cebuano cussword for … I don’t know … I don’t think it has a Tagalong or an English equivalent. And I realized that I haven’t uttered that since I moved here in the capital.

6. Getting a call from my Californian friend who tries so desperately to speak the Filipino language. “Pow-tah perey, di kow ah-lam, mukah ekong gegow!” (Son of a bitch dude, I didn’t know, I feel like a complete jerk!) One more year Tyler, one more year and you’re getting there.

7. Receiving a text message from my high school classmate informing me that James, our classmate, been recovering from his paralysis.

8. Finding the hundred bucks in my laundry. A hundred bucks may not seem that big, but hey, it’s enough for my Cappuccino.

9. Getting an email from one of my bestfriends, Joyce, announcing that she’s having her second baby within the week. Whoa! That’s two babies in less than a year. I can sense a basketball team coming out of her. Or a cheering squad if it’ll be all girls.

10. Hearing the words “Layshus,” “Charmus,” “Chuvaness,” and “Chenelyn” on the tube, making me reminisce my Rotary Youth club days. To Mark and Princess “Layshus mirasol chasmus!” To Joseph and Vanessa “Been there … been that!”

(to be concluded...)