Unspoken Words and Loud Thoughts

"You seem like a robot sometimes," someone recently told me. He could have added, "You're also rigid and unapproachable," but I told him I already knew what he meant.

It's the second time someone's called me a "robot". A robot who just does her job at work and nothing more. A robot who finds it difficult to make friends because she fears she might lose her authority. A robot who sometimes prefers to be feared than be liked.

I couldn't decide what to feel when I was called a "robot" for the second time. It seemed inaccurate and misunderstood. I think it's funny that at my first job, their major gripe about me is that I was too nice.

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I'm starting to get overwhelmed with the future. I feel it slowly come up to me while I consistently run away from it. I'm afraid that one day, without warning, it'll finally catch up to me. Ready to slap me in the face.

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One thing you probably should know about me is that I was raised to be extremely independent. "When someone offers you something, always politely say no even if you want it," my mom would tell me. This applied to candies, chocolates, food in general, assistance of any kind, etc. My mom is the kind of person who worked really hard on her own for what she has right now.

When I got a bit older, I realized that I was able to turn the independence my mom taught me into something else. I became a good actor. Even if I needed food, I always acted full. Even if I needed help, I always acted like I have it all in control. Even if someone was showing me care, I always acted like I didn't need it.

When I got a lot older, it turned into something else again. It turned into pride. I would exhaust all my efforts before asking for help. Just thinking of needing someone or something else, made me feel weak. I turned into someone who couldn't see the difference between sympathy and love so when one of them is given to me, I'm not able to decipher which is which.

One of my best friends told me that the reason why I didn't have "someone" is because I didn't need one. Or at least it seems like I didn't need one. "People like to be needed sometimes. It makes them feel good about themselves," he said.

So the next time you offer me coffee, beer, or assistance of any kind, I will turn my brain off, take a deep breath, smile, and just say, "Yes, please. Thank you."

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I have a very good imagination. That's why I prefer books rather than movies. I think that's also why I prefer you far away than with me here.

I've conjured up a picture of you in my head. I'm scared that if I see you everyday, I'll find out that the picture doesn't resemble you at all.

Oh, but the thought of having you with me everyday puts a huge smile on my face.

Morning Rituals and Keeping Up with the Awesomeness

Alarm goes off at 4 in the morning. I hit snooze. I hit snooze 348756 times until it's 5:20am. I stand up. Finally.

I go to the bathroom. I bring my iPad and phone. I check my messages. I read. I think. I make most of my life's decisions in my bathroom. I finally take a bath. All this takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

I dress up. Oh, the dressing up. I seem to always love matching pink and green, green and brown, and blue and green. I either end up looking like a watermerlon or Mother Earth. I comb my hair and hastily grab all my stuff since I'm probably already running late because I couldn't decide which fruit I will dress up as that day. One quick glance around my room checking if I've forgotten anything, then I'm off.

I go to my parents' room to say goodbye. They're all still sleeping so I just sneak in to kiss my parents goodbye. My sister's stuck in the middle of my parents with her mouth wide open so I leave her alone.

I go down and eat breakfast. 10 minutes tops, then I'm off to my daily commute.

Tricycle. As the wind blows on my face, I put day cream on it. Sun block because... climate change.

Shuttle/FX. Oh the FX and its infinitely limited space. Once I reach the place where I take a jeep to the MRT, I check if my legs are still connected to my body. If they are, I continue.

Jeep. EMERTEE EMERTEE EMERTEE EMERTEE EMERTEE.

MRT. The stairs. The stairs are my morning enemy. Even if I DETEST how the MRT is being run by whoever, I actually love this part of my morning. Once I'm in the train, I put my earphones on, press Shuffle in my iPod, and finally I'm in a bubble for 30 minutes.

Bubble time. Oh, how I maximize those 30 minutes I have "all to myself." I put my earphones on and suddenly I'm bestfriends with Beyonce, Hayley Williams, Adele, Ingrid Michaelson, Armi Millare, Sara Bareilles and Regina Spektor. I suddenly have a concert and the #HumansofEDSA are my audience. Even The Script, Jason Mraz, Coldplay, The Smiths, Ed Sheeran, and Two Door Cinema Club attend my concert. It's AWESOME. Everyday, they attend. Everyday, IT'S AWESOME.

Today was different. Today, my earphones broke. My earphones broke and I didn't have my Bubble Time. My Bubble Time that I always look forward to every weekday morning. My 30 minutes "all to myself." No Beyonce...

Have you put Mentos in a newly opened Coca-Cola bottle? Have you watched an eruption of any volcano? Have you ever blacked out in a plane due to intense anxiety/anger because a baby is crying on top of his/her lungs? Or have you blacked out in general? All these happened to me at the same time in 3 seconds.

But after that, my perky/always positive thinking/taking control/won't-let-anything-ruin-my-day/I-can-always-turn-shit-around self kicked in. And I sang. Not out loud. Not out loud, but with conviction. I damn well sang my Beyonce and bobbed my head along with the bobbing of the train. I sang. I sang my frickin' heart out.

I sang my frickin' heart out because sometimes, when life breaks your earphones, you just gotta close your eyes, own the stage, and sing acapella to the #HumansofEDSA.

After all, they came all the way from wherever, sweating under the heat of the sun just to see you.

To-do list:
- Make life buy you new earphones!

Vicarious Pleasures?

Lately, I've been missing you. Missing you especially because I already constantly do. Just now, I saw a picture of you on my Facebook feed. I miss you again even more. I press Home then I find myself scrolling down impatiently until I see your picture pop up again. I miss you even more.

It all started when I recently received something from you. Something that had meaning. Or not. I don't know for sure. You confuse me most of the time. But I hope it had meaning. So that we will have direction. Or even just a path.

All my close friends say our relationship is weird. "Labo..." is their exact word. Again, I get confused. What's so weird about what we do? But when I actually look at us from their point of view, it is kinda weird. Maybe it's 'cause we have something special? Or maybe we're just two weird people doing "unnormal" stuff even two weird people should not do? I don't know.

But whenever we do what we do, it doesn't seem "unnormal". It feels right. It feels comfortable. Sometimes, it even feels necessary. That's when it scares me the most.

I have absolutely no idea what you're thinking. If you're actually consciously doing all these things to lead me somewhere I'm not familiar with. Not familiar with anymore anyway.

Sometimes, it seems that I'm actually in control. I keep telling myself that I have to wait. To be patient. And I'm ok with that. But sometimes (like this very moment), I just want to go to you and hug you. And cuddle. And stare at you. And kiss you. It drives me crazy that I can't.

I have to see you. Soon. Or not ever.

Reel Life

Most of the time we're like Crazy Little Thing Called Love. That stupid teenage love affair that makes you giggle. Sometimes we're some Sandra Bullock movie. Old Sandra Bullock movie. Like While You Were Sleeping or Two Weeks Notice or something. Sometimes it's 10 Things I Hate About You. We have an awesome OST, but everything is shallow and predictable. Smart, yet predictable. Very seldom we're A Walk to Remember or If Only or P.S. I Love You. Those moments I don't like. I avoid those moments because I'm always the one getting hurt. Or I always cannot handle when you're the one getting hurt. It's all melodramatic and exaggerated. I REALLY hate it. Sometimes we're all Science of Sleep or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I also hate those moments. It's like we're trying too hard to complicate something incredibly simple that it makes us dumb. I hate pretending to be dumb.

I love our Before Sunset moments where we just talk or be quiet together. I love those moments. I prolong those moments most of the time whenever I can. I like quiet. You seem to hate it, which is very weird.

Speaking of weird, sometimes we're Magic Mike. I don't wanna elaborate. It makes me uncomfortable. (It's not what you think.) Oooh, I also like our Dead Poets Society or Good Will Hunting moments where we have very intelligent conversations and it lasts for hours and instead of being enlightened about something, we actually get even more confused. I like those moments. Those are the moments when I feel that... I don't know. I just get this feeling in my stomach.

But at the end of the day I think we're just (500) Days of Summer. GREAT OST. Lots of Regina Spektor, who I LOVE. Great movie. Different and out of the box. (That's us; different and out of the box.) It's a taste of reality. It's a story of boy meets girl, but is not a love story. That's us. And it feels nice having realized that. It turns all the question marks into periods and exclamation points. It brings some kind of peace.

Now, just like every girl, I'm waiting for my Beauty and the Beast moment. I get impatient sometimes, but the Beast had to wait years for Belle to come so that puts things in perspective. (So I'm the Beast? :/) And to think, all the Disney princesses had to wait for their princes to "rescue" them so who am I to question Messrs Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm and Mister Walt.

But then sometimes I wonder. Maybe I should write my own story so I can be the main character of my own movie. I can be the leading lady (or the princess) and you can be... I don't know. I guess we'll have to see as a write it.

Touch, Hold, Cling, Grasp

A touch of pink.
A touch of a butterfly on Winnie the Pooh's nose.
A touch of a furry creature.
A touch due to curiosity.
A touch to a life.

The Touch of a hand.
Of two hands.
The playfulness of the Touch.
The feel of the Touch.
The inappropriateness of it all.
But the wanting of the Touch.
The feel of the Touch.
The feeling.
How it lingers.
How it still does until now.

A hold on to the wheel.
A hold to a glass.
A lasting hold of styling gel.
A hold to thought.
A hold of you.

The Hold of hand to arm.
The wish of the Hold of hand to hand instead of hand to arm.
The fear of the Hold of my sweaty palms.
The settling for the Hold of hand to arm or wrist.
The fear of the thought of Holding hands.

The Holding on to the memory of the Touch.
The going back to the Touch.
The wanting for the Touch to become a Hold.
The fear of dependence.
The lingering fear of dependence.

A cling of a monkey to a tree.
A cling of a baby to a mother.
A cling towards you.

The Cling of thoughts.
Oh how good the thoughts Cling.
The Cling to memory.
The wanting to forget.
The exhaustion of the wanting to forget.
The Cling that makes the scene repeat over and over again.
Over and over again until I feel that pain in my stomach.

The Grasp of idea.
The Grasping of the idea of impossibility.
The Grasping of the idea of a small window opening.
The window shutting up again.
The Grasping of the idea that everything is an illusion.
The Grasping of reality vs. expectations.
The Grasping of the idea of wanting to forget.
The Grasping of the idea of boredom.
The Grasping of the idea of repetitiveness.
The Grasping of the idea of distance.
The Grasping of the idea of transparency.
The fear of transparency.
The letting go.

The Grasping of the idea of the Touch, the Hold, and the Cling.
The Grasping of it all.

The Impossibility.
The Impossibility for now.

"That was hard for me to say, I hope I said it right. Whichever come what may, you see I need to know tonight."

Putting All Eggs in One Basket

[Selects playlist. Shuffle. Go.]

(Now playing: Just a Little Bit by Maria Mena)
Just a little bit stronger. Just a little bit wiser. Just a little less needy. And maybe I'll get there.

I was carrying a dozen colored balloons. Pretty balloons. Full of air. Colorful. The sky got dark. It rained. It rained needles! All my balloons popped. All my pretty balloons. All my balloons full of air. All my colorful balloons.

[Next. Next. Next. Go.]

{Now playing: Always by Atlantic Star)
Come with me, my sweet. Let's go make a family.

Today, I met up with my friend who was pregnant with her first child. She was sleepy. She was ranting. She was tired. She told me all her husband did were hug her and tell her that everything will be ok. She smiled. She was ready to go to work.

[Next. Go.]

{Now playing: In Repair by John Mayer)
I'm in repair. I'm not together, but I'm getting there.

Tornado. A tornado entered my room. I know I invited you over, but I have to clean my room first. I'm putting the Do Not Disturb sign on my door. Please keep yourself comfortable outside. It's pretty messed up in here. It'll take time to clean all the shit up. Tornadoes.

(Now playing: Your Guardian Angel - Acoustic Version by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus)

[Listens for a while.]
[Next. Next. Go.]

(Now playing: I Can't Make You Love Me - Cover by Adele)
I will give up this fight.

[Sings along.]
[Go again.]

(Now playing: The First Cut Is the Deepest by Sheryl Crow)
I still want you by my side. Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried.

[Tries to harmonize.]
[Shuts up and focuses. Go again.]

Last night, I saw someone crossing the street in the rain without an umbrella. I was standing across him with an umbrella in my hand and my bag on the other. I was staring at him. I wanted to share my umbrella with him. The rain was pouring hard. I felt bad. Guilty. I was about to cross when the cars came fast in front of me. I stopped. It caught his attention. He was frowning. He was soaking wet. He was pissed off. I smiled. He forced a smile a back. It was all we could offer each other. The rain finally stopped.

[Next. Next. Next. Next. Oh.]

(Now playing: Tulog Na by Sugarfree)
Tulog na, mahal ko. Nandito lang akong bahala sa iyo. Sige na, tulog na muna. Tulog na, mahal ko. At baka bukas ngingiti ka sa wakas at sabay nating harapin ang mundo.

[Go.]

(Now playing: Honestly by Bethany Joy Galeotti)
I'm so glad you're far away. Is that a terrible thing to say? Well, I wonder if you're okay.

As I open my eyes in the morning... As I commute to work... In the middle of the meeting... As I do my actual work... As I commute home... As I have my dinner either alone or with my sister... As I hangout alone in my room... In rainy days... Whenever I'm lost... Whenever I see others... Whenever I hear the fucking song, "Cable Cars" by frickin' The Fray... Whenever my bag gets way too heavy... Whenever I watch a movie about love... Whenever I have a bad day... I hear you whisper. But I can't understand. You're way too far away. Perhaps in another continent. Please speak louder. Are you there? Do you still exist?

(Now playing: Last Flight Out by Plus One)
Although it's hard and scares me so, a life without you scares me more.

[Battery empty. Charge. End.]

Chloe the Clingy Monkey

Chloe the Clingy Monkey loves to cling to lamp posts. Not trees. Lamp posts. For some odd reason, she always fails to cling to trees. She may be allergic to the leaves of the tree, or the tree may be way too tall, or she may be way too short, or she just plainly fails to reach the tree. She tries and tries to reach the tall luscious trees but her leap is just not enough. So she decides to settle for the lamp posts. The lamp posts that are comfortable. The lamp posts that give her light but are cold in the middle of the night. The lamp posts that she loves to talk to but don't always respond. The lamp posts that pretend to shade her whenever it rains. The lamp posts that are good enough for now. She settles for them. For now.

Instant Happiness is Instant

I've probably already posted hundreds of video chat grabs on my Facebook. And here's another one. I just really wanna remember moments like this when I needed someone to cheer me up so bad and this k-razyy bunch of weirdos happen to do just that via video chat. (Distance is a bitch. And in this case, also the epic the weather. O__O) I wanna document moments when it only took ONE text message containing only TWO syllables to make me feel a BILLION times happier.

I will forever be grateful for having this k-razyy bunch of weirdos in my life. :)

And just like that, maybe I won't need to call that hotline.

Bipolarity, Randomness, Sleepiness

TAKE ONE:
[I used to think I had nothing to say. That I could handle everything on my own. But I actually wanna scream. I wanna burst out in tears. I actually wanna talk. And now that I have something to say, I find myself talking to a wall. I've been talking to a wall all this time.]

TAKE TWO:
[I've been on this Merry-Go-Round (which by the way is my favorite ride in amusement parks) for so long now. I'm already very dizzy. I wanna get off so bad, but I wanna get my money's worth. But is it really worth it when I already feel like vomiting?]

TAKE THREE:
[I'm not gonna fall for that bait you're dangling. I'm gonna keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Swimming, swimming.]

TAKE FOUR:
[It's funny when a dog chases its tail. It'll try to catch its tail around and around and around until it can't anymore. I like it when it stops and gives up. That implies that the dog learned it's impossible to chase your tail. I don't like it when it does the chasing over again.]

TAKE FIVE:
["CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" I hear a soft reply. Then I say even louder, "IS ANYBODY THERE?!" I can't quite make out the reply. I decide to listen very carefully as I screamed for the last time, "HELLO??!" I hear a faint, "Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello." Just an echo. No one's here.]

TAKE SIX:
[Jelly melly felly kelly celly nelly delly pelly. I wanna turn into jelly.]

Thanks for the rescue! :) ++

Just grateful to a friend who spent the weekend with me. I've been feeling like shit since last week so it was really nice not to wallow in depression and sulk for a change.

We didn't do anything special or whatever, but it's kinda nice to not do anything with someone. (Yep, I think I just slept the whole time.)

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On another note, I figured out that making two worlds meet makes me anxious. Two sides of me that is. Sides that are not as simple as just the good and bad. It's kinda like mixing ice cream with chowder. O__O

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On another other note, I'm going to Singapore on Thursday! :) We're celebrating my sister's birthday. Oh, how I miss traveling. Oh, how I miss airports. I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WAIT! Weee!

Suggestion Box

I don't ask. I don't know how. It's probably 'cause I, myself, don't wanna be asked.

I'm sorry for not asking. I'm sorry I'm not there. I wanna be there so bad. It's just that I kinda have my own shit too. I'm kinda stuck in this black hole and I don't know what to do. If you could just wait for me, that'd be grand. I hope I don't take too long.

For now, I can only offer my occasional presence, hugs and shoulder to lean on. I hope they do. For now.

I miss you. I miss me. I miss us... all of us.

The Tale of the Lost Remote Control

When you lose the remote control for the TV after watching a movie, it seems unbearable. In that particular moment, it seems so excrutiating to read the words coming from the bottom of the screen to the top. You start looking for the remote control and it feels like you've already wasted a whole lot of time. 2 minutes seem like forever. You are now angry and you turn your surroundings upside down. You are just about to stop looking and just turn the TV off when you finally find it. You start to calm down and flip through the channels. You find that in most of the channels, all you see are credits. It's that time of the night wherein every movie in every channel has just finished. (7pm/9pm/11pm) You decide to wait. Then you start getting impatient so you just settle on a documentary that interests you or probably the news. And then you fall asleep.

When you lose something very valuable to you, it is impossible not to miss it. Time may fool you and make you believe that you don't but there will be moments wherein that feeling of helplessness emanates. There's no way to completely get over it. You have to have some kind of a powerful memory to overcome that feeling. Or maybe another loss would do it.

Losing the remote control of your TV is much simpler because in the back of your head, you're 100% sure you'll find it. It's in the same room as you are. And that's the reason why you get so angry and impatient that you don't find it fast enough. It's so near but you can't see it. In a way, you need that anger and impatience to continue to look for it because you know you really need it to change the frickin' channel.

But what if you start losing more complicated things like people, inspiration, identity, or independence. The anger and impatience will be different. It'll be quiet and stagnant and annoying. That push to look for those things will be gone. No one will convince you to look for it. Maybe not even yourself. But the thing is, no one has to. You just have to realize that the thing you lost is in the same room as you are. That'll drive you crazy and only then will you be 100% sure that you'll find it.

And I swear, when I find it, I'm not just gonna fall asleep. I'm gonna watch the best damn movie and finish it.

If you had super powers, what would it be?

Whenever I am faced with this question, I always answer invisibility and/or opposite of a dementor's powers (Harry Potter geek, I'm sorry).

Invisibility because who wouldn't want peace and quiet once in a while? Who wouldn't want not to be judged? It's very exhausting to impress other people or just be presentable enough to exist. I'd want to disappear once in a while so no one would be able to bother me. No one would be able to talk to me. No one would be able to come near me. No one would be able to hurt me.

A dementor's "powers" are to suck the soul out of human beings near it. It feeds on the sorrow of the people. It loves despair and fear. The path it walks on dies or becomes cold. When its lips meet a human's, the human will die. That is called the kiss of death. Me, I'd want the complete opposite of a demoentor's powers. I'd want to fill the human's soul happiness. I'd want to feed on every child's laughter and every elders' kisses. I'd love hope and faith. The path I walk on would become calmer and warm. Instead of a kiss, I'd give a hug of hope wherein the person who receives it would fall asleep and wake up the next day with a clear head and lighter heart because I won't be able to solve the person's problem. I could only set up the condition wherein one can think of what to do next. My powers wouldn't offer answers, it just manipulates moods. (If you read Twilight, a more exaggerated power of Jasper's is what I'm talking about.) When you think about it, no one could really solve your problems/sorrows for you. One can only help you get to a solution. If someone solves your problems for you, you won't be able to learn how do it yourself. And that's a scary place to be in. It's like walking thru life blind.

Whenever I'm around people, I'd always want them to have a good time. I put a lot of pressure on myself to entertain people. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. This is actually the reason why I want the complete opposite power of a dementor. When I'm around people, I'd want them to feel happy and comfortable with me. I'd want them to feel warmer and happier as if I hugged each of them real hard. This pressure is the reason why I don't like hosting parties. I feel like I'll go crazy when just one person isn't having fun. That pressure can be real heavy at times to a point where I'd just want to stay away from people. This is where the power of invisibility comes in. I'd want to recharge so I could make people happy again.

I could only imagine having both powers. It'd be awesome to make people happy while concealing my true self/emotions. It'd be great to make people love each other without them seeing your sorrows. It'd be fantastic to give people hope while you struggle with yours. Yes, it's very heroic and masochistic in some people's views, but super powers come with a price.

Fifty People, One Question

Directed by Kamil Krolak

The thing about regrets is that the person who made the most mistakes (providing he/she learned from them) would not have one. Mistakes are made by doing the wrong things to others, thinking the wrong things even if you know the right ones, etc. If you learned from your mistakes you would not have any reason to want to go back and change anything that you did.  Regrets only exist with missed opportunities. Things that you wish you did but, for some excuse that you made, you didn't. It's definitely a million-dollar question when you're asked what your biggest regret is because missed opportunities exist every moment in all of us. Whether it'd be not learning to play any kind of musical instrument or not marrying your college sweetheart 'til 50 years after. Everything we do has opportunity costs (forgive my Economics point of view). When you decide to do something, you completely abandon doing something else. Regrets are always there but some are not big enough to be categorized as the BIGGEST ones.

Regrets burden us every single day and all we can do is lighten that burden. Lighten them until you reach that point, be able to say, "I have no regrets," and actually believe it.


PS: I like the latter part of the film. After being able to realize their biggest regrets, they turn around and walk away. They decide to go forth and continue living while carrying their heavy baggage just hoping to lighten them the minute they go home.

Koala's March

Me: Baka kasi walang kasama 'yong friend ko mamayang 3am eh... Samahan ko nalang siya...

Dad: Sinong friend?

Me: 'Yong classmate ko sa Econ...

Dad: Sino ngang classmate? Anong pangalan?

Me: 'Di mo naman kilala...

Dad: Ano ngang pangalan?!

Me: Tricia!

A dialog between a dad and his daughter wherein the dad longs to find out if his daughter is going to hang out with a boy at 3am in the morning. It was actually kinda funny once I knew that that was what he was trying to do. I wanted to prolong the conversation as long as possible to piss him off. It kinda worked.

*on the phone*

Mom: Baby, miss na kita.

Me: Anubeyan 30minutes palang ako wala.

Mom: Haha! Nasaan na ba kayo?

Me: Papasok palang ng SLEX. (and yes, SLEX is 30 minutes away from our house)

Mom: Mag-iingat ka sa UP ah!

Me: Of course!

A phone conversation between a mom and her daughter wherein the mom desperately clings to her daughter because she thinks that her daughter may be up to no good. It's kind of surprising because she was in a bad mood the whole day. She probably just wants someone to help her with the chores at home (maid, day-off).

And now I'm alone in the boarding house with nothing to do and with only a bottled water in the fridge to consume.

And fine, yes, I miss them like hell already.

[innocent] "phone call"

I heard your voice today. I ACTUALLY heard your voice. What do you say to someone who you haven't talked to in QUITE a while? What's the appropriate conversation starter/stimulator? What would you say to someone who you hung on to for a long time?  I didn't know what to say so to avoid babbling, I passed the phone to someone else.

Dorothy Boyd was right. You had me at "Hello."

Kinda sucks that, to you, it was just an innocent phone call.