Every Vice Has A Price

O Bar, OrtigasStrange how stage lights and full-blast speakers take your life a little, and yet, when mixed with high doses of booze and unnumbered sticks of nicotine, they keep you going when smoke-screened nights become a bitter aftertaste.Do it again and again, and in no time your words will be laced with electronic dance music that speaks nothing but the emptiness that comes after a feel-good

War Tunes

VI No longer at the mercy of random encounters, I can now laugh at the thought of sex eye balls and even ditch the idea completely. One may point to the years of experience; of finally gaining supremacy over the pursuit of flesh.But I didn't get there without stumbling, and doing regrettable acts this blog (and its previous reincarnation) have written. They may be hidden beneath the layers of

Shelter Me From The Storm

Pinagkait man ng tahanang matutuluyan,sa piling ng mga rehas na bakalat malalamig na tubo ng Maynilad,doon ay natagpuan angpansamantalang taguan samarahas at mapagtaboy na lansangan.

An Angry God

"Hala ka, magagalit si Papa God niyan!" An elder used to say to make us behave when we were kids. The warning always worked, as it reinforces the belief of a higher being, more supreme than the adults who used to take hold of our lives.It is an instinctive response that never fails to sway blind obedience, as each generation gets to know the Almighty by his wrath. How unfortunate that those more

Unfair Assessment

A conversation.5. Mugen 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:08by the way, you spoke to the boy?6. X  23. Nov. 2012 - 04:11we're friends. do you know him?7. Mugen 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:13yeah, I owe him an apology.8. X 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:14what for?9. Mugen 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:15For suddenly stopped texting.10. X 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:19why?11. Mugen 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:21He got too close.12. X 23. Nov. 2012 - 04:22too

Collateral Damage (Finale)

Previously on Souljacker"So ano ang gagawin mo kapag bigla akong nagtanggal ng damit at tumabi sa iyo?" "Yayakapin kita at hahalikan." I sms-ed back. Earlier, the boy asked what I was doing. I said I'm in bed, writing notes on my journal."Nice... Palaban ka talaga ha?" "Ako pa..." I replied with a naughty emoticon. "Kala mo sa akin, masisindak sa iyo ser?" He went on to create sexy scenes that

Collateral Damage (Second Part)

Previously on SouljackerThe intense glow of city lights faded as the night passed into daylight. But the early morning lull didn't stop me and the boy from learning the lives we lead behind the skin full and teasing profiles on Romeo's world.He was five years my junior. An only child, who pursued another shot at the academe to chase his dream of becoming a doctor. Wounded, he too was a returning

Scale Back

Previously on SouljackerSpring came to the office when the new project was announced last month. It was a piece of good news for a workplace that is on the verge of a slump. With me as the project liaison, I saw everything like it was a god-given break. Assured that I knew the business as it was part of my knowledge, we were certain to break new grounds before the month ends.Me and the boss

Collateral Damage (First Part)

He could have been someone worth knowing. A friend, a confidant, a regular drinking buddy that I could one day introduce to the Encantos. Ours is a story like no other, even when our narrative ran like everyone's gay tale.A week ago, Mugen decides to once again taunt the self who still holds control of the body. One click of the mouse button, while floating above the blue skies of Planet Romeo,

In Transit

"At talagang kinunan mo ng picture ha?"I said while we stood at the bend, on a bridge gutting out of the reclaimed land. In front of us was the other face of the famed bay, seldom seen in postcards but breathtaking and inspiring nonetheless. To the fisher folks who live in ramshackle houses, the bay remains a fulcrum in their see-saw lives. They flocked its shores to mark the passing of another

Return To Bed

I can still remember the number of souls I pulled from the ground.One was a skinhead guy. Short and manly. He has a mole smacked just above his upper lip. He was an energizer bunny at the fringes of the dance floor. He began swaying his hips long before I busted a move. I reached for his hand when the party gods picked me to share their podium. Being sober, he turned down the invitation and

Baler, Dreaming

"Punta tayong Baler!!""Kelan?" The kid across the table asked without even looking at my direction. He continued cutting the Spicy Garlic Calamares to bite-size pieces still steaming on his plate."Umm... sa 15 sana eh..." I had hoped my suggestion would brighten his face and reanimate our conversation. But knowing he had seen the place twice - in less than a year - a return trip for him would

Bilog Ang Mundo

TornFullmetal DreamsJuly 21, 2008Tanghali"Uy, bakit ka nagmiss-call?""Asan ka po?""Heto papasok napo sa trabaho. Bakit mo tinatanong?""Wala lang... Happy Monthsary po. I miss you so much.""Miss. na.. rin.. kita...""Kinalimutan mo na ang monthsary natin.""Iniintay lang kitang unang bumati. Alam kong monthsary natin ngayon.""Tulog po ako sa inyo mamaya. Ok lang po ba?""Ah eh, gagabihin po ako sa

Kind and Generous

I can be very nice to people.Despite my tendency to be aloof, I can be very accommodating to those who see beyond the impression. I can bend rules if reasons justify. And I can be very patient, when it comes to loved ones, to colleagues, or to fellow travelers who got heavy burdens to carry on their back.I try to be considerate and non-confrontational. I won't raise issues and shake

Descent

children's children of our timewill look at the skyand wonder how we used to flyfine machines such as the space shuttle.in their hearts they will feel a sense of loss;a time, those of us who were alive today hardly remembers,which they will put into wordsfor the digital universe to mourn.Story:

Meanie, I Refuse To Be

How do you know when you're already picking on a subordinate? Is it measured by how easy it ticks you when she doesn't follow work guidelines, and being the person of authority, you won't hesitate sending her electronic letters - with the director included in the address field - to point out the mistakes only she at work commits? Does it show when you add your voice to the growing chorus of

Utang

"Anak pautang na lang ulit ng 1K. May 500 pa ako. Withdraw na lang ulit ako bukas."Walang matinong anak - sa kaso ko - na panganay ang magsasabi lang ng "ok" kapag nanghiram ng salapi ang magulang. Sa edad na 30, dapat ay kalahati ng mga gastusin sa bahay ay sinasalo ko na. Ngunit sa liit ng aking take-home pay, tanging ang cable TV at broadband Internet lang ang binabayaran ko. Kasama na dun ang

Twenty Two

Just so you would have an idea of the life I had a few years after I stepped out of the university. The entry was lifted from my old blog. Unedited to preserve the writing style and raw emotions of my twink self.Light At The End Of The TunnelFullmetal DreamsJuly 1, 2004I thought I would last a day without worrying or thinking how bleak our future would be. I thought that by encoding my mom's

Mia Patro

Mugen Sr. In his early thirtiesI used to tell my buddies, "ang hirap magpalaki ng tatay..." when you're the one giving me my school allowance. And I really thought I'd be a better manager after you let me run the company for two weeks because you've embarked on a glitzy Eurotrip one summer. I still recall the time you stood between me and the cold bars of a prison cell, because the ex-boyfriend

Crisis Intervention

A friendly reminder I found on Facebook this morning.Meanwhile, the body follows a pattern of sleep. Experts call it the Circadian Rhythm. We call it the proper bedtime. And since my work hours drastically move from the afternoon to the morning shift on Mondays, I am forced to change my bedtime pattern in a single day - every week. That leaves my two days in the morning difficult to manage. My