Month: March 2015

Sayang Lia, We Only Had One Date Part 1: Ice Cream or Coffee?

Posted on March 4, 2015 Updated on March 4, 2015

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I thought this quote was from some proto-Lang Leav cheeseball; it’s actually from the late-great Dr. Seuss. I like the children’s author’s works, although I didn’t believe this quote of his before my date with Lia; yes, it’s a date. After all, you’re always going to feel sorrowful about an end, for it entails a loss, a cutting off from something or someone you want to keep having, seeing, or being with. However, there are times when the end, instead of leaving you saddened because of a future devoid of that thing/person, makes you recount everything, from the sweet and hopeful rush of the beginning up until the beautiful and insight-changing culmination, and just leave out the uneven conclusion. You already know what happened, but that’s okay, because everything that transpired before – the witty conversations, the exchange of photos of our daily lives, the discovery that sayang is a term of endearment in Malaysian, and most importantly, the date, made me happy, especially the last.

Let me begin in the beginning of the climax that was three weeks in the making, in me meeting her for the first time in Fully Booked in Town (Alabang Town Center) – AKA ATC for the non-savvy and the north people. She’s cute – long hair, chinita eyes, round face – but intimidating at first; I wasn’t sure why though. Was it the way she spoke? Was it the way she carried herself and her elegant white lace dress, which exuded class and confidence? I don’t know; either way, after an icebreaker question which I forgot but definitely has something to do with eating or coffee, I found it easier to converse with her. Easier, not easy; it was still challenging. Easy is fun, but challenging is enjoyable, rewarding even.

And the reward? Ice cream, Dairy Queen, after giving up on all the coffee shops, as they were either full or overcrowded. Ice cream, a rather teenage idea, but it works; beggars can’t be choosers anyway. Then again, I wouldn’t call it “settling”; ice cream is rather refreshing to me to be honest, because coffee can be sometimes pretentious and cliche – something Lia agrees with. I ordered a strawberry-flavored Blizzard, while she ordered a chocolate-flavored one that has a fancy and explosive name, as it involved the word Blast.

Because of my Blizzard’s flavor, she talked about her guy friend who likes strawberry-flavored foods and therefore was very happy when she gave him strawberry jam after a trip from Baguio. From that, the conversation changed to That Thing Called Tadhana, which she said was a good movie that I should give a chance even though I’m not a big fan of local cinema; her posh friends; the fashion scene; and a whole lot of others I can’t seem to remember. Live WeChat with ice cream – that was the most fun time I’ve had in Dairy Queen. EVER. Blows all Starbucks dates I’ve had before.

After ice cream, we bought movie tickets for Jupiter Ascending. She was going to buy her movie tickets herself, so I stopped her and told her that I got it. “Are you sure?” she tilted her head and looked me in the eye. Yes, I was sure at that time; I still am until now. I like the fact that she’s totally cool with spending for her own ticket because it meant that ~~I could’ve saved money~~ she’s not after the treat, but I wanted to pay for her ticket nonetheless to show that I appreciate her company, so I did. It was one of those few rare moments that I felt genuinely happy for spending. It’s also one of the few times I don’t regret spending money for a girl. While Php460 doesn’t mean much to both of us, especially to her considering that she’s obviously a social stratus higher than me, there have been many times when I felt bad because I spent my hard-earned cash for a girl. I feel that way not because I’m a cheapskate, but because I felt that the girl I spent it for isn’t worth it. Heck, I felt crappy for myself for spending a measly Php200 for a girl once. This time, however, I spent a total of Php660 at the end of the night, but I still feel blissful about it every damn time I reminisce even though our link towards each other were cut off a few days later.

Once the ticket’s been paid, we loitered around Town. I can’t exactly remember the exact details, but I can clearly picture the girl I dated. And for the sake of her memory, I tried to recreate the rest of the date, which is most of it. Part 2 and 3 here.

This entry was posted in Cupid's Corner, Girl Talk and tagged crush, date, love, romance, tinder.

Sayang Lia, We Only Had One Date Part 2: All Through The Town

Posted on March 4, 2015

If there’s something I learned/am currently learning in Creative Nonfiction class, it’s the fact that autobiographical writing is all about the recreation of memories. The problem with that is it can be inaccurate. On the other hand, its beauty lies is in its glorification through words; that is very much true in some of the things during my date with Lia. While there may be less inaccuracies in part 1 because I remember it quite clearly, it can’t be said the same here, as the mix of the mundane and the highlighted moments after the ticket-buying became murky in my head. In fear of getting the order of events wrong, I decided to tell of them in an anachronistic manner.

A staple of the modern-day date with any college-educated lady involves browsing in a bookstore, especially Fully Booked, the country’s most self-respecting multi-branch bookstore, as it has more emphasis on books than store. With Lin, it was for manga. With Niña, it was for some young adult cheese. With Lia, it was for some coffee table books about fashion. And oh how pricey were those things that Lia seems to lose her cool over in delight – one for nearly half of my monthly salary. And oh how sad for her that the things were sealed, preventing in-store browsing and leaving anyone without any choice but to buy them if he or she is to see the contents. Oh if only I were a filthy-rich bachelor, I would’ve bought her one so we can browse it together in a nearby Starbucks…or Dairy Queen.

But of course, there’s more to her than being a fashion design enthusiast/major; she’s more importantly a girl, so we also checked out some smart and quirky non-Nicholas Sparks American romance novels, those that are mostly for late teen/college/yuppie girls. Some lady author I forgot, Rainbow Rowell, and John Green and his entire shelf with nothing but The Fault in Our Stars, just to name a few. And as we browsed these kinds of books, she told me almost the same thing Niña told me – that she’d stay in the place as she waits for her friends and just browse until they arrive. At that point, she usually realizes that she has already covered three chapters.

After our short window shopping at her favorite Fully Booked branch (she prefers it over the High Street branch; she thinks the latter is too cramped), we went to random shops. I can’t remember the others, but I distinctly remember going to Bread Talk but ended up buying nothing even though I wanted to, and Muji, where we just checked out the overpriced clothes and kitchen utensils. Seriously, who buys a spoon or a fork for Php250? Then again, it’s probably worth the price. I mean, a Muji spoon isn’t just some spoon that you scoop your food with and then put into your mouth, it’s a Muji spoon that you scoop your food with and then put into your mouth.

Looking at merchandise without the intent of buying may be enjoyable, but more enjoyable – not to mention enlightening – were our conversations as we walked around Town. A good part of it was our attempt to solve the mystery of how promo cars are brought inside malls. I believe that they’re transported piece by piece and then assembled inside the mall proper, while she hypothesizes that there is a secret path specifically for them. Either way, whichever between us is right, Lia intends to keep the truth a secret.

Another hefty chunk of our talks , obviously, were about fashion – Lia’s passion for the industry, her desire to run her own business, her partiality towards white threads, and her taste in handbags that is a lot more “mature” as compared to those her age. We got to the last subtopic when she started pointing at a particular handbag inside a boutique; I can’t exactly remember what the bag looked like though. Was it the one that is colored white? Or was it the multi-colored one – purple, yellow, and black – that, according to her, will make the ever-watchful eyes of Divisoria snatchers converge on you? Well, whichever between the two, I ended up both complimenting and teasing her – calling her Tita (aunt) – because of her good but mature-for-her-age taste in bags. Is liking your aunt, (who is four years younger than you) beyond familial reasons considered a psychological disorder? Maybe it’s a good kind of psychological disorder, if there’s such a thing as one.

And when we’re not talking about anything related to fashion, her fashion sense, and her own self, we – or rather, I talk to her about my own self and my fashion sense, especially the latter. After all, her opinions – especially those related to what I was wearing – matter to me not just because I like her, but because she’s a fashion major; a compliment from her regarding my style would hold so much water because she knows what she’s talking about. Unfortunately, I didn’t get one, but she didn’t go fashion police on me either; she just gave a “not bad/pwede na rin (Tagalog for not bad)” and told me that there is still room for improvement. I don’t know how much, but I’m definitely leagues behind the Caucasian-looking guy who passed us by while we were buying giga fries at Potato Corner, as he pretty much got her seal of approval. When I asked her how, she told me that it’s about looking good in your clothes, then she added that some people are so good at dressing up that it only takes them jeans and a shirt to look rocking. Basically, she’s referring to that Caucasian-looking guy. Well, whatever; Mister Fashionista may have beat me when it comes to looks and fashion sense, but he’s not the one on a date with the one and only Lia. Or maybe he doesn’t care because he’s gay, I don’t know…

The middle of our date was already muddled in my head, so much so that I don’t know how to properly conclude this part; this paragraph is just a shirt and a pair of pants that was abruptly put on so that the body of this post can go out into the world without seeming inappropriate. And as much as I want to dress it up a bit more with our Jamaican patties – hers cheesy beef and mine spicy chicken, my failed attempt to get her a plushie from the Timezone crane game machine, our selfie before we watched Jupiter Ascending, I’m afraid there’s just no room for them anymore; this is already the most coherent and relevant configuration of what I can remember regarding the things that transpired between the ice cream and the movie. Like I said in the beginning, it’s anachronistic and contains inaccuracies, but I could no longer do something better for this post – kind of like how our date turned out…or how I believe it turned out.

That’s okay though, because I’m a lot more sure about the things that happened next. Wanna know? Find out here.

This entry was posted in Cupid's Corner, Girl Talk, Stories Of My Life and tagged alabang, ATC, book, chinita, crush, dating, fashion, fully booked, love, mall, shopping, tinder, town.

Sayang Lia, We Only Had One Date Part 3: Ascension and Reincarnation (Also A Jupiter Ascending Review)

Posted on March 4, 2015 Updated on March 4, 2015

“Sunk out at sea, crashed my car, gone insane, and it felt so good I wanna do it again…”

-Bachelor Girl, Buses and Trains

Lia is one in seven billion, the only one of her kind. No one else in the world gives off an intimidating aura that enthuses me instead of overburdening and piques my interest because of her interestingly cute mannerisms – saying yum whenever she pops a string of French Fries on her mouth, that childish look on her face when she rests her chin on her palms, and the way she softly steps – that meld together with her air of sophistication. Wanna know other girls who are one in seven billion, the only one of her kind? Most of the girls I really liked. And Lia, just like them, are forever lost in my life. Maybe in the next life, five-digit years into the future, I’ll get Lia, when she has a new name and a new calling, when we have both forgotten our rather fun Tinder date – on my end at least. Kind of like the plot in Jupiter Ascending.

Sci-fi isn’t really Lia’s cup of tea, so I don’t know why she agreed to the Wachowski’s visual visionary spectacle. In fact, I even expected her to say no, except she didn’t, so I took her yes for a yes. And while there were times during the movie when I wished that I chose Project Almanac instead even tho it’s the generic millennial teenybopper YOLO idiocy, I believe I made the right choice. After all, many of its elements – the clear, crisp, and detailed visuals; the art direction that was a fusing of the Renaissance-esque, Final Fantasy-ish and space age; the high-octane but comprehensible action scenes; the sincerity of the plot despite its unnecessary cheese and its reliance on damsel-in-distress tropes; and the themes of reincarnation and human harvesting – appealed to me. And when Lia seemed to have received some sort of “inspiration” for their thesis, which is a futuristic-themed fashion show, I knew that I chose right. I mean, look at that space haute couture; it’s so avant garde.

Mila Kunis’s dress by Michael Cinco. A beautiful gown that was used for an intergalactic political marriage was designed by a Filipino. Thanos damn it, our race is so awesome that our achievements reach space. Pinoy Pride right there.

How Eddie Redmayne says he’s a dashing debonair evil overlord: 1.) Sitting 2.) Screaming

Aside from the fashion, she also liked Channing. As expected. Too bad, because I know she would’ve been happier if the 21 Jump Street guy had his Magic Mike abs for the movie. If she dated a younger me, I would’ve been insecure with Tatum’s body, especially if my date was swooning over his six pack (which was absent in the movie). But now that I understand gender equality, I believe it’s only right for women to enjoy fanservice.

A few questions though: why do girls still find him attractive despite the unnatural golden eyebrows and beard and that elven ears? And his role in the movie had more things in common than a dog than a human, right?

After all, I did too with Tuppence Middleton’s ass, so much so that I wasn’t able to contain my glee and had a “hot damn, dat ass” moment in front of Lia. That’s okay though, she had a toned-down but nevertheless same reaction anyway.

Man, I wish Tuppence was the one to have broken the internet and not Kim K. See the entirety of Jupiter Asscending to see Kalique Abrassax’s ass yourself.

Okay, now check out her front. By the way, do you know what tuppence means?

Despite critics’ bashing, we thought the movie was good. According to Lia, it was typical but fun. Aside from the praises I’ve previously stated, Mila and Channing were entertaining to watch both individually and as a couple, as they had chemistry as a couple. And the ending? Perfect! Why? Let me end this pseudo-review first with a 7-7.5/10 (very flawed storytelling and pace, but highly entertaining, aesthetically appealing visuals-wise, and had a lot of heart and a brilliant theme and premise) and get on with an analysis.

SPOILERS: If you haven’t watched the movie yet, don’t read further.

If there’s something critics repeatedly hate on, it’s the ending, which they think made the entire movie pointless. Well, to be fair, to go back to cleaning toilets after seeing the cosmically big picture is a waste of life. However, it may seem like that, but Jupiter did not go back to that shitty life, literally. If she did, she’ll no longer be with Caine. But they’re very much together, and they’re talking about what she’ll do next to stop the gene trade. Jupiter is doing is taking her time, spending her last days as a normal human, and sorting things out before going back to the vastness of space and correct whatever needs to be corrected.

And while Jupiter knows what’s beyond the stars and will be returning there shortly, I, on the other hand, was only given a short but beautiful glimpse.We went past the Tinder nebula where we first “met”, spun around the WeChat star with our convos and photos, and met on the edge of space that is Town. We had ice cream, window-shopping, taking of a selfie, and a movie on the last few hours before the first and last embrace – our bodies’ only collision for our entire date and probably even lifetime, and then, after two days of conversation, all of the residues of whatever we had, whatever it’s called, has burned out. So, is it over? Well, with what I learned from Jupiter Ascending, it’s a no.

According to the movie’s mythos, gene patterns repeat. When they do, it’s considered as a reincarnation. I thought about it, and it kind of makes sense. Genes, after all, are just codes, and codes, no matter how many permutations they have, are finite, making repetition inevitable. It takes a long time, but it definitely will happen; I just hope that the next repetition of both our gene codes happen in the same timeline and place as each other. I’ll be Caine and she’ll be Jupiter. We’ll swipe right again using some futuristic cellphone app and talk for three weeks, then I’ll ditch my friends for a date with her even if everything between us in the next life ends the same way in this one.