Absence Makes the Heart Grow Needier

July 22, 2007

"I won’t let you travel again without me," he blurted out as soon as he saw me in the airport. My trip to BKK has been the longest the hub and I have spent apart. From the moment I entered Mactan airport to the point where our plane winged its way towards Thailand, he anxiously kept Mariel, me, and Rose busy with his text messages and calls. He did not sleep until he was sure we made it safely into the Ranaras’ condo. By then, it was almost four in the morning.

"We need time away from each other."

He gripped my hand tightly. "No, we don’t. The time you spend at work is enough time away from each other."

He had lost six pounds in the five days I was away. I felt sorry for him. I know he missed me. The maid said he hasn’t been eating or sleeping well. Exorbitant roaming rates notwithstanding, he messaged me at least twice every hour while I was in BKK. Sorry or not, however, I was not going to relent to that high-handed decision. After all, what’s a week spent apart when we have the rest of our life to look forward to?

We’ve been together six years, and except for that Bkk trip, the longest we’ve been apart is less than 24 hours. A part of me recognizes its not healthy to spend all your time with one person, even if that person is your spouse. In the hierarchy of needs, the need to socialize is one that is just as important as food and home. Thus far, however, we have kept socializing to the barest minimum. He doesn’t go out with friends. I do, but very rarely. I wonder how other couples do it. Is there a prescribed length of time couples should spend away from each other? If so, what is it?

Someone should write a handbook on matters like these. Marriage, I now believe, is not as easy as pruning unnecessary adjectives off paragraphs.

No, I Haven’t Found a Crack in Space and Time.

July 17, 2007

I disappeared for weeks, but no, I didn’t hie off to a secret world where giraffes dance with spoons.

I went to BKK where I got hung upside down, wrong side out on a theme park ride called Hurricane. I kissed a farang in red boxers while he enjoyed a soak in his backyard. I dragged a sack up, down, left, and right of Prattunam because I could no longer lift all my shopping bags. I rode a tuktuk, the Thais’ more glamorous version of Tagbilaran’s motorilla. I learned to ask how much and say thank you in Thai. I prowled the red light district - several, in fact - and saw the gazillion ways a vagina could be turned into a means for livelihood. Getting poked by a penis doesn’t even count. I’m talking circus material here. Think three dozen needles strung on a thin rope and pulled ever so slowly out of a vagina, or a horn-toting vagina that blares out Happy Birthday or some other catchy Thai song. I saw the beautiful girls of Pattaya and the smelly foreigners who went there to get laid. I got kissed in the cheek by a male stripper. This was after he fucked a homosexual, mind you. I went catatonic and immediately felt like googling, "How is Aids transmitted?" I went to temples, too, and stood beside the reclining Buddha. Finally, and most importantly, I spent four amazing days with Rose and Paul, two teachers from my high school who are living large and wonderfully in the middle of BKK.

No, I did not find a crack in space and time. What I found, however, was something just as lovely. I found a city rife with possibilities, a city with sights, sounds, and color as vibrant and hypnotic as its lights. I found BKK, and I left it wishing I did not have to.

Oh BKK, I shall miss you. Please keep my footprints warm in your earth.

Lessons Learned on a Friday

July 6, 2007

1. Spatial reasoning tests can induce migraines.
I took one today and it gave me a headache. I wonder how I survived having to take all those IQ tests in grade school, high school, and college.

2. Espresso can keep you awake for 48 hours.
I down one every day. It helps me keep my eyes open, but only after I’ve puked out half of my stomach’s contents. Yam says espresso makes her vomit, too. One of these days, I’m going to study the possibility of packaging espresso as a must-have beverage for anorexics.

3. Not all bosses are assholes.
I love my boss. We all do. No matter how heavy our workload or tasks, we feel inspired each time we talk to him or see him. Oh, and he’s very goodlooking, too! Everyone should have a boss like mine.

4. Strange, interesting people are sometimes found in structured environments.
It’s widely believed the most interesting of people are never found inside offices. They run away to Santorini to write books or become roadies. I am happy to report that there are lots of strange, interesting people in my workplace, and they’ve been thriving in this structured environment for years now. One adopts hobbies as frequently and quickly as she eats; another goes traveling with a cow that blogs. A third leads multiple - not just double - lives. She’s a writer, a doodler, and the most fearsome seamstress this side of Asia. The fourth one has wanderlust and takes photos of her feet every time she treads on places other than her hometown.

5. Dave Navarro is hot.
The office’s resident ogre introduced me to Dave Navarro today. I never even knew the guy existed until today. Dave Navarro sizzles. With a body like that, he has no right to wear shirts.

6. Hangovers do not follow known mathematical constructs.
The bottles of San Mig Light you swig will not always be directly proportional to the intensity of your hangover.

The ‘Read Again, Please, Chin’ Project (Week 1)

July 4, 2007

Weeks back, Yam and I talked of how badly we’ve been neglecting our reading. She’s been sewing, and I’ve been whoring - at least writing-wise. Alarmed over having strayed from beloved books and bookshelves for so long, I used what little free time I had last week to read up a storm.

These, I read last week.

These, I’m reading.

These, I want to read again. I will love you forever and ever if you give me these: