Sun, 24 Sep 2006 03:07:23 GMT

my LJ needs to be painted pretty. i said that how many months ago.

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 01:58:02 GMT

Mom hasn't bothered giving any of us a call since her flight last Wednesday. She must really be enjoying Germany, then. As always, the whole family gets sick when the doctor leaves, which is no wonder why we're all having colds.

Cheers to no classes, Saint Poveda.

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 05:33:17 GMT

I have found an answer to my problem of forgetting novels due to not enough time to read them. A single short story "can be done in one sitting" and yet "encompasses all the elements of the very best fiction."

Here's one from Fast Food Fiction, edited by Noelle Q. de Jesus. Read on for yourself.

Afternoon Solstice

by Cathy Babao Guballa

She sat by the window, glancing at the door every now and then. She took a sip of her iced tea and wiped the beads of water that cascaded down the side of her glass. Glancing at her watch, she began to drum her fingertips on the round narra table. It had been two years since they had seen each other, although they had spoken occasionally--birthdays, Valentine's, Christmas. In spite of time and distance, somehow, they had always been there for each other.

Kara and Jake had been children together, growing up on an Air Force base in Pampanga. For the longest time, they were like brother and sister, until the summer they both turned sixteen and she began to view him in a totally different light. Suddenly, the siblinglike camaraderie stopped and young love slowly bloomed. They went together informally, MU or "mutual admiration" it was called during those young heady days.

For college, they had both gone to a private university in Quezon City and did very well in their chosen fields. Biology for him. Communication Arts for her. Jake had long dreamt of becoming a pediatric surgeon and Kara had nurtured the dream of being a children's book writer. After college, she went into advertising and then after a few years, left the country to pursue a master's degree in the U.S. while he remained in Manila to complete his medical training. For awhile, the communication lines were open, but after a time, the letters, calls and e-mails began to dwindle and then stop completely. Kara grew heartbroken at Jake’s uncharacteristic coldness and was eager to return to find out why.

Except three months before her homecoming, she met someone. Martin was Filipino too, and something in him reminded her of Jake. It was a whirlwind courtship and on the eve of her departure for Manila, Martin asked Kara to marry him. She knew she loved Martin, but she felt hesitancy in her heart. “I need to go home first, and find out something for myself,” she told him before leaving.

That was a week ago. Today she would decide either to spend her life back in Manila or go back to New York and build a new life with Martin.

The door chimes broke her reverie, and in walked Jake, looking every bit the way he did when they last saw each other. Even better, she muttered. She managed a nervous smile when he gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Lauren,” he said softly. “Huh?” she replied, woozy at his sudden nearness. Of course, he had given her a bottle of perfume on her birthday three years ago, and he probably felt she still used it.

They sat down and traded stories for the next hour or so.

“Tita Leng told me you’ll make Chief Resident next year.”

He grinned sheepishly, “Yeah, that’s what they say at the hospital. More work; I have no more life.”

“No more love life?” she teased.

Jake’s smile froze.

“Kars, I’m sorry—if I—” he stammered.

“Stopped communicating?” she finished the sentence for him. She found herself reaching for his hand. “What happened, Jake? I’ve wondered this last year, why…”

He pulled his hand away and cleared his throat, but said nothing.

Outside the sun had begun to set, painting the skies a glorious tinge of orange. She sighed.

“I’ve met someone, Jake,” Kara began.

He turned and looked at her with a faint smile. “That’s nice.”

Surprised and somewhat hurt, she said, “The reason I’m telling you this is I want to know if there was a chance in the past that you would have asked me to—” She stopped short and looked away.

“Marry you?”

“Yes,” she replied softly then looked straight into his eyes. What greeted her was a face filled with sadness and in an instant, she understood why.

“Probably not, though I’ve always, I will always love you in a special way.” He began to explain. She tried to keep the tears from falling, listening to him speak.

“I’m gay,” he said, dropping the bomb.

As if on cue, she bowed her head and saw a teardrop leave a smudge on the round narra table.

“Kara,” he whispered and hesitantly reached for her hand. She took it, gripped it firmly. She forced another smile and said, “It’s okay.” Afterwards, they both sat, holding hands, looking out the same window but in different directions. A solitary star flickered in the distance. A few moments later, evening set in.

Catherine, Apple, Maffi and Chay came over after class. *Please proceed to Maffi's blog for more details.*

I love rainy weekends.

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 08:13:54 GMT

The best three days of the month happened this *long* weekend.

On Saturday, Oma and Opa celebrated their golden anniversary on the top floor of Villa Encarnacion *Let's say that again, sexier this time: one, two, three. Villa Encarnacion*

I admire my grandparents. They're story is the perfect example of how love should be.

The next day, all of you came over. Aside from the main purpose of coming over, which is cooking, we had a happy Sunday.

Mel, you can wait for him in my pool anytime. The floating candles are still there. *wink*

Maia, tu eres mi papi chulo.

Niña, you thought my house was haunted before. But that's alright, so did Nikki.

And speaking of you, Nikki, you're my surprising neighbor down *insert street name here* street. My mom and your dad were in the same ~~barkada~~ clique, so i guess that makes us...friends. :)

Anyway, so then it started to rain hard last night. Classes were called off, then my family decided to go to Eastwood. But on our way down the escalator in City Walk 2, I saw Maffi's Yael and Armo. *yihee, Maffi*

Then there is today, right now, where I'm remembering how awesome my weekend was.

Did I mention that I love this rainy weekend?

voila!

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 13:48:27 GMT

...my own account. livejournal is an epidemic that has already hit me.

this one's for you, my friends...as long as you help me prettify.

roadmishaps

Cheers to no classes, Saint Poveda.

I love rainy weekends.

voila!