beachhead revisited

the past few days, the city from my terrace looked like these:

the notorious pollution notwithstanding, it was a clear day with nice blue skies. suddenly i was inspired to go to the beach. i would take a bus, a ferry ride and voila i would be enjoying the triple s: sun, sand and sea. the fourth but most important s would come later, i hope.
so i decided to get out of the city the following weekend and stay in the beach for two nights and three days. that would be enough to get a decent tan and start a scorching hot affair. as if!

i was thinking, the sea would wash away the paranoia and negativity that have been gathering like cobwebs inside my pure, virginal soul. i need to sweep them out of my system before they turn me into a green-eyed monster with a know-it-all attitude. (the respectable f. sionil jose wouldn't like that.)

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friday night, i was excited. i even turned down a friend's invite to attend a post-midnight gig that promised a lot of willing and able twinks, ready for the taking.
i sorted out the beach outfit (five sets), short shorts, sandals, six pairs of dark glasses, a dozen or so flipflops, moisturizers, tanning lotion, shampoo fit for staying all day in the sun, etc etc. see how a princess would plan for a three-day weekend at the beach? so much pressure! i wish i did not fire my personal assistant so she can do all of these for me, while i am out hunting.
i hardly slept.i watched another re-run of the 2011 ms. universe contest in brazil hoping that chamsey (did i spell it right? i am such a poor speller) would win this time, if not the crown then at least the first runner up title. but no!
when i woke up, i could hear the pounding of the wind against the terrace's glass door. when i parted the heavy velvet curtains, i could hardly see anything. before i could even say, omfg!, the heavy rain started. like the sky was sharing the great hiawatha's grief. don't know him? gosh, google dahlins! it's one great poem, written by a fellow named henry.

lonely in the sky was wabun;

though the birds sang gayly to him, 

though the wild-flowers of the meadow 

filled the air with odors for him; 

though the forests and the rivers 

sang and shouted at his coming, 

still his heart was sad within him, 

for he was alone in heaven. 

di ba ang gandah? very soulful?!

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back to my predicament.
so what should a princess do? i don't want to stay in bed and be sad all day. i don't want to be grumpy either. that will add a few years on my face, not a good idea.
i dialed the front desk and asked for a cab. when it's pouring, taxis, like trustworthy men, are hard to find. getting one is best left to the experts. trust me. a few minutes later, the front desk called to say: we got you a cab. see what i mean?
hurriedly i went down. pushed the elevator button. voila, i was out of that prison. free as a bird.
the driver was cute and looked like this:

wholesome, sunny yet brooding. mysterious yet accessible. a man of contradictions! i luv!
"where to?"
i gave him the address of my favourite coffee shop. my only regret was i sat at the back instead of beside him at the front.  what can i say, i am a proper lady.
we talked a bit. i learned a few things about him. no, i did not ask him anything. he volunteered the information, dahlins. he also asked things about me and why i was going out on such a weather. but i ignored his questions.  i rather hear him talk. and he did. i also noticed that he kept on looking at me from the top mirror of his cab.
having brought up with good manners, i asked him if he could join me for tea. he declined. he said he does not drink tea. i told him it was a metaphor, a figure of speech. that he could drink anything. that confused him even more. jesus, mary and me! di bale na lang, i told him.
so off i went to favourite coffee shop. hoping that at least there would be cuties inside, who, like me, would rather spend the dreary, rainy afternoon drinking hot coffee or chocolate elsewhere.
it was empty, as the day it opened.

i ordered a tall sizzling hot cappuccino, chocolate banana bread and egg slash tuna sandwich. i was famished and depressed. so i have to eat a ton, even the cute cashier slash waiter. he was alone that day too. maybe his co-workers got stuck in traffic or were swallowed by the flood.

while he was preparing my food and drinks, i started reading evelyn waugh's brideshead revisited, a book about a gay royalty in luv with his schoolmate in oxford, a commoner who is (sadly) ambivalent about his sexuality.  the title refers to the grand estate with a castle and a church where the gay royalty and his crazy family sometimes live.

for a while the whole place was quiet, except for classical music. the cutie played bach, vivaldi, debussy and chopin. seriously. perfect for the rainy day, don't you think? it was like being inside a huge cathedral in rome or in vigan. where you feel the presence of divinity and holy beings that you are compelled to stay quiet or just whisper.

a few minutes later, just when i and my bag were getting comfortable inside the place, some clients arrived. wet from the rains. how brave.

in between reading, eating and drinking, i texted my fabulous bff:

"what are you doing in this bleak, cold, rainy saturday?"
"not much. i am here in la union on the way to ilocos for a fuel eco run."
"i should have gone with you. i was supposed to go beaching today but the rain spoiled it for me."
"it's also raining here. where are you suppose to go swimming."
"roxas boulevard. break water."
"lol! let's swim at the house once i get back."
"great! then we can drink and eat a lot."
"correct! i still have a lot of wine in the house."
"let's have some red and blue cheese. it's been a long time since i got drunk. mga two days ago."
"i'm envious. ako three!"
i was laughing all by myself. end of conversation.
i resumed reading. a few more customers arrived and i noticed that two other colleagues of cute waiter slash cashier made it to work. one of them looked like him:

wish ko lang!
at around five, the rain has subsided a bit. bored to the bones, i left. walked under the rain. it was fun. i felt like a naughty little kid again, bathing in the rain against the wishes of my yayas. i was sickly as a child. so there. it was a twenty minute walk to where i was staying for the moment.
when i reached the lobby, another cute boy was waiting for the elevator. here is his picture.

eww! sorry downloaded the wrong one. that was me, twenty years ago when i joined the super model of the world and won hands down.
finally, here he is. with a look so promising (of endless nights of ecstasy), i wanted to marry him right there and then. no buts, no ifs, not even a priest is needed.

what can i say?
when it rains, it...

(some pictures are taken from the internet, so please don't sue the poor, indigent me.)

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song for the day: raining men:

have a great working week ahead fellow bitches, witches and princesses!