adventures in neverland

perhaps, in my egotistical, peter pan mind, the real horror this halloween season is the realization that this must be how getting older will be like, celebrating what used to be a very fun night quietly, almost serenely, in an idyllic, upper middle class home in a far away gated, well-guarded subdivision, admiring the lush, well-maintained garden at night, while silence enveloped the air like a sad refrain, except for the faint sound coming from night birds somewhere unfamiliar and unrestricted. or from an occasional motorbike driven by a fearless teenager speeding away, perhaps fleeing the scene of loneliness and desolation, looking for something frightening to do while the night was still young. even the trees in the darkness whose leaves and branches were swaying to the evening air failed to raise any of the remaining hairs in our bodies. maybe we have been immune to isolation and desolation. (what were you doing, you asked, in far away quezon city, the city of the stars, ...

i knew i was at home the moment i set foot inside cafe adriatico in malate, an ancient (spanish era) two-storey house converted into a restaurant serving mostly home cooked spanish and filipino food and a coffee shop. i love the vibe, the old world ambiance. the cheerful staff. the helpful security guard. the place has so much stories to tell, so many ghosts wandering around. in my case, so many memories. i wouldn't exchange it for any starbucks shop anywhere in the world (except maybe in paris). ********** i sat outside to get a better feel of malate: the bitter smell of dust as the rain gently washes the earth; the street urchins playing under the rain; the watch your car boys helping drivers park their cars; and the cacophony of noises: loud filipino rock music coming from a pedicab; sirens from an ambulance and a police patrol car; the ringing of the bells from the nearby malate church. ahh, there is no place like it. after getting a table outsid...

someone asked to have this reposted (she is too lazy to search for it). chos! (my apologies to non-filipino speaking readers. most of the dialogues are in filipino. please buy an english-filipino-gay lingo dictionary, otherwise known as baklarila .) sunday. beautiful, sunny sunday. i had dinner with fabulous bff from another planet with a different timezone. her kingdom is from a far far away galaxy that you will need not just a passport and visa but certificates of good hygiene, mental stability and good moral character before you are allowed to enter the territory. yes, that's how advance their civilization is compared to ours. but since i am a princess from one of the oldest kingdoms in planet uranus, i am allowed to come in even without these documents. while waiting for her to arrive (unlike the prompt me, she is always late. when i say late, i really mean late. like an hour or so. that's normal for her. she won't even apologize for it. but since sh...