Patient Diego (First Part)

A slight, barely noticeable fever lasted for days. My sister began to worry. Her son is barely a year old. But her hesitation forced my mother to intervene. On a cloudy Sunday a week ago, the couple had to bring baby Diego to a medical clinic. My mother's instruction.Within the day, the blood test results came in. Doctors ordered immediate confinement. The baby's blood platelet count dropped

Speculations

"Let's make a story," I told Darfie. He was downing his third bottle of Tanduay Ice when O-Bar's show girls took the small stage."Once upon a time, when O-Bar Ortigas was just an experiment - a doomed experiment I used to say." I paused to watch a tranny lip sync a Rihanna anthem. "These ladies were asked if they like to be assigned there." "Or they'll stick with O-Malate."At that time, every gay

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

Trekkie

IV.Some of us have always known that the world used to spin in uneasy peace. There were the stars and stripes, and the hammer and sickle. Two global superpowers, whose array of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles pointed at each other. Under constant threat of annihilation, people devised ways to put sense into their lives. There were the flower hippies, whose music, spoken words and non-protest

Double Take

IAlong the railway, between the train stations of Pandacan and Paco were tents perched not far from the rail tracks. These homes were patched using snatched tarpaulins and old cardboard boxes salvaged from the side of the road. When I saw them from inside the passing train, they seemed smaller than a German Shepherd's dog cage. A closer look however might reveal a roomier floor space than the

A Bus Ride

I warned my mom the other day that we won't fit inside the Tamaraw FX. It's New Year's eve and our lifelong tradition says that we should all go to Favorite Aunt's place and spend the Media Noche there. But the stubborn matriarch insisted that we will all fit inside the car. She even accused me of setting up a romantic date with someone on New Year's eve and that's the reason I don't want to

Parting Gift

She wakes up in the morning when everyone upstairs is still asleep. As the guardian of the little one, she gets out of the sofa, washes her face, and takes the baby from the sleeping parents. The little tyke closes his eyes before everyone does at night. But his sound slumber doesn't mean the end of her work. Sometimes she stays up until midnight to pacify the tantrums of the older one. Some late

Between Exes

Yet you still value the things you've lost the most. Because the things you've lost are still perfect in your head. They never rusted. They never broke. They are made of the memories you once had, which only grow rosier and brighter, day by day. They are made of the dreams of how wonderful things could have been and must never suffer the indignity of actually still existing. Of being real. Of

Mercedes Benz

W 115The boss drives a red Mercedes Benz W 123 to work. Hailing from the late 70's, the sedan is honored as the best of its time. The boss also has a large poster adjacent to his table. Framed in old wood, and with words Gut Getroffen below the three-pointed star, there is no mistake that the wall decor refers to Karl Benz' early creation.I do not know what other Benz stuff my superior collects.

The Green Thumb Challenge

My college buddies and I capped the reunion with a sleep over at the host's place. The next day, I asked one of them to drop me off at the Manila Seedling Bank. The green spot at the corner of Quezon Avenue and Edsa has become one of my guilty pleasures. I can't help but channel the Martha Stewart in me every time I go there. The rest of the afternoon was spent putting the Basils and Mints on

Ninang

Masayang nagsasayaw si Bunso kasama si Shattershards malapit sa stage nang mapansin ko ang lalaki sa aming likuran. Maputi ang binata, nasa mid-twenties ang edad at ang mga mata nito'y nakatingin sa aking inaanak. Ramdam ko na siya ay naaakit. Hindi nga lang nito alam kung paano magpapakilala.Nahuli ko ang binata na pilit inaabot ang balikat ni bunso. Magalaw ang kanyang pagsasayaw kaya't hindi

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

Compassion

An SMS Conversation:October 27Hello Mugs. Salamat sa pag-allow s akin ng homebased ha malaking tulong sa pakiramdam ng mami ko pag andito ako sa haus dont worry ndi ko naman napapabayan mga trabaho saka alam nman ng mami ko ndi ako pwd istorbohin basta kampante lng cya na andito ako sa haus.Masaya na ako na nakikita mo siya habang nagwowork ka. You owe your team mates part of the credit as

Shades of Lust

I was waiting for a new-found friend to go online - there - when a kid sent me a private message."Where in Santa Mesa?"A polite question required a polite answer."Near Altura. Ikaw?"He gave his location and because of the affable tone of our exchange, the conversation went on. We traded face pictures, asked what we're doing on Romeo's World (said I was listening to my mp3s at the moment) and when

Dog Days

To be rewarded with weekend rest days should be a cause for celebration. The last time I had my Sundays for leisure was ages ago, and to secure that one day, I had to make sacrifices and spend years having separated days off at work.But the expected switch was met with ambivalence, if not downright dismay. It is because it was announced by the director during the end of my work week, and that I

For The Future

Previously on SouljackerThe trend is to lay claim to the overhead cabinets, before they too fall victim to the hoarders looking for space to dump their keepsakes. These wooden storage boxes, while already being used as repository of useless things, don't make the most of the available space. Given proper attention, the old stuff they hold can be thrown away, allowing the essentials littering the

The Good News

Once, I got a book.It was a token from a classmate in Diliman. A Filipino-Chinese, who spends most of her time running the family business. It was a parting gift given during our last day of class. And I didn't give it much thought until I got home.I unwrapped the present to learn that it was a religious book. Not the inspirational or self-help literature but a Manga. A graphic novel that was

Sentimental

china dollIt was a gift from an aunt long before my little sister was pulled out of my mother's womb. Encased in a transparent jar, the ceramic doll remained untouched. Only recently, when the soon-to-be mother began moving stuff out of her room and into the narrow corridor did the china doll got dismissed. Its jar coated in dust, trash spilled within the bowels of the container itself.I found

Salsal

News is when a man bites a dog and not the other way around.For this reason, we were taught in Journalism how to discern news over what is mere press release. With this mindset, we begin to learn why good news seldom make it to the headlines, unless the society has become too corrupt that immorality has become the norm or a sense of optimism whiffs in the air.We were also taught how to make

The Martha Stewart In Me

I used to be that little boy who could grow plants at will. It's the green thumb, people say. But I pay no heed to their suggestion. Left under my own device, I scoured the city for herbs and tiny shrubs for my small garden. I pick them from someone's green corner (often without their permission) with the plants' roots still intact. The thumb-sized plants are then carted home in plastic cups