Slump

Someone asked me, just casually, the other day, "How are you?". I replied, "Same old, same old." Then he said, "It will stay like that until you do something about it."

It hit me. He was right.

The past days, I would wake up dragging myself to motivate me to face the new day. I have been constantly chasing for something that I don't know. Aimless if you may say. Admitting it now might make some friends say, "You very well know what (or Who) is missing." There's a default answer.

How can someone shatter you so badly it's too darn difficult to put yourself back together again? In just one blow you're knocked-out. So hard you can't get up again. The tragedy of it all, you found yourself alone... Some of the things that you used to believe because they make sense don't add up when real life confronts you. I very well get it now when they say that experience is the great teacher.

Some things are easier said than understood. If there's one thing I learned from the recent "big events" in my life, it would be to learn to listen and understand people more. I had those moments when I was such an obstinate and would deem explanations other that what I thought makes sense as stupid and acceptable.

And what about this writing? I think I'm in a period of slump and I'm afraid the people I know I can turn to will not understand.

Manila: Circa 1938

A little piece of history. This is Manila post-Spanish and pre-Japanese era. We have many rise-and-fall-and-rise-again moments as a nation and this video shows one slice of Manila in one of its glorious days.

The Day My Phone Was Stolen... 
And Got It Back

I have been telling my friends about how I would have mini heart attack whenever I don't feel my precious iPhone in my pocket. It happened just like that in the colorful but crowded Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon. Before finishing the second round of touring the kiping-adorned neighborhood, I slid my hand in my pocket to get my phone and it wasn't there anymore. I knew right away that some thief got it.

The feeling of losing is terrible. I knew I did not put it anywhere but my pocket but I still desperately searched for it in my bag. I lost myself for a few seconds before I thought of ringing my lost phone. It was about to become a horrible day but as my companions said, I was lucky. When I called my number, it was answered by a policeman telling me to claim it and that some lady in the crowd managed to stealthily snatch it. Hands down, she was a pro. I can't imagine how she got it in my deep pocket because I honestly didn't notice that I have been robbed already.

When I arrived in the police station, the police pointed me to the pregnant woman who stole my phone. She looked young, maybe in her early 20's. I think she looked pitiful but I'm not sure if she was remorseful. The policeman explained that they have intelligence unit deployed in the area to outwit the thieves who were also scattered during the fiesta. I thanked and commended the police in civilian clothes who caught the pregnant thief. I can only hope that we will always get the same excellent police enforcement. Before I left the station, several tourists arrived to also report their lost phone. Some, their lost wallet. I am just grateful that I went their to claim what was stolen to me.

Looking relieved (and stupid with smiling Mickey tied on my bag). The first photo from my phone after I claimed it in the police station.

This experience made me realize how something lost can be more valuable once you find it again. You treasure it more. You take care of it more... Because it's painful losing something precious and you don't want it to happen again.

Hope

For almost two years now, I refrained from watching wedding videos as much as I can. But this one got me and reminded me how beautiful love is. Quoting my best friend when he shared this video to me, lie down... try not to cry... cry a lot. This one's worth sharing so, here...