Pagod

pagod na ang isip ko

pagod na ang mata ko

pagod na and katawan ko.

subalit ang oras ayaw maghintay

ang takbo ng panahon ay walang sablay

ang ikot ng mundo’y walang humpay.

may saysay ba ang lahat ng ito

may kwenta ba talaga ang mundo

may patutunguhan ba ang pagod ko.

nabago ko na ba ang sarili ko

naantig ko na ba ang kapwa ko

nagalaw ko na ba ang kapaligiran ko.

tumingala ako sa langit, alapaap lang ang nakita ko

tumungo ako sa lupa, alikabok lang ang napansin ko

humarap ako sa salamin, di ko na ata kilala ang kaharap ko.

saan ba may kasagutan

sino ba may eksplanasyon

meron nga bang solusyon.

palingon-lingon

paora-orasyon

patanong-tanong.

muntik ko na namang itulog ito

muntik na namang ibaon ang iniisip ko

muntik nang ipagpabukas ang mga katanungan ko.

nang mapansin ko kayong tatlo

natutulog sa kama ko

kayo ang mahalaga at ang halaga ng buhay ko.

nawala ang atubuli pati na ang pagod ko.

Go East

Shortly after arriving from the Philippines last July, whilst still intoxicated by happy and sad thoughts, we set to embark on our next family trip. With enough airline miles for a couple of free tickets we decided to go visit the east coast, to the mythical New York and New Jersey area. We pegged September 2-4 since it was a long weekend and it was one week from Faye’s 30th birthday.

We flew out of Houston Friday night and we arrived at the Newark Airport shortly after midnight.  It was a smooth flight and was pretty uneventful except for the last 30 minutes of the 3 hour flight when Kareena lost her sleep and had a fit trying to find it back. We were glad when we got off the plane but we didn’t realize we would be stuck in the airport for almost three more hours. Everything just seemed to move very slowly that early morning. It took forever for our luggage to come out of the conveyor. It took forever for the shuttle to take us to the rental car area. It took forever to get our car at the rental car office.  All the while, Kareena and Rakesh were awake and playing like it was the middle of the day.  When we left the airport, it was windy and drizzling. Driving south, we arrived at Ed and Madelaine Somera’s very nice and comfortable house in Piscataway, New Jersey at around 5AM, tired, sluggish and sleepy. 

Six hours later, we were all on a train to New York City. We arrived at the Penn Station and into the wet and windy city. The rain and the winds did not let up.  We saw a little ramen house as we were walking and took the opportunity to warm up. We then headed to Times Square to get on the NY Sightseeing bus tour. It was a hop on/hop off tour with several drop off and pick up points in the downtown area. Unfortunately, it rained hard while we were on the bus so we never did hop off. We got our pathetic peek of the city from the bus window. The bus full-circled and we found ourselves at Times Square again. Our party (Faye, Rakesh, Kareena, Ed and Madelaine) met up with Cesar Garduque, his brother Carlo and his wife Eloise. We had a little High School reunion of sorts at the Olive Garden amidst the throng of tourists and locals.

New York looks oddly familiar, though. I have seen the cityscape on TV, the movies and in print many times in the past and the images have now been filled with the accompanying sound and smell. But more than the familiarity brought about by its popularity; the scene is something I’ve been in before. The hustle and bustle, the lights, the mad rush, the weird-looking and sometimes scary people, the cars, the taxis, the out-of-towners – they are no different than say Cubao at Christmas time. They just make it so it seems it’s more glamorous here in New York.

The trip could have been better for sure. A little sunshine would have allowed us to see more of this fabled land. But travel is like that. You have to extract what you can in the little time you have, whatever the circumstance is. I think what made the trip really special, though, was that we get to share good food and good conversation with good company while the rain splatters on the window overlooking picturesque Times Square.

Vending Machine

Sometimes you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised in unexpected places. We were attending Rakesh’s classmate’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s when I went to the vending machine to get soda. Lined up with the usual choices was a speckle of my childhood, something I never thought I’d see again – Mello Yello.

I was trying to remember its taste, trying to recall if it tasted the same. But the memory of the taste was no longer there. Instead, memories of Miguelin came back, back when Mello Yello was new and was a refreshing alternative to coke, back when the 8 ounce bottle was emptied into a white plastic bag with colored straw. The plastic bag was handy and portable and was discarded when the drink was gone. It brought back memories of a time when the 8 ounce bottle was just right to quench the thirst, just enough to replenish the battery, just enough to battle the afternoon heat.

I wonder if I’ll encounter more bits of the past out there like this unassuming Mello Yello.  I hope so. The past always makes me smile.