AN ENCOUNTER WITH A FAMILIAR FACE

AEC members inspecting Hanjin Condotel in Subic 

On November 22, 2019, at about 2:00 pm, I went to Landbank Subic to make a deposit. 

As I was filling out a deposit slip, a lady, probably in her late 40s, came in and greeted me with a smile as though we had frequently met before.

 

Her face looked familiar but I could not remember her name.

 

As I sat on a chair at the waiting area, I tried to reach back hoping to remember her name.

 

Could she be Gina Agustin, then the Chief of Staff of a former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and whom I approached for help in my desire to be reassigned to another SBMA department?

 

Since the lady sat in front of me at the waiting area, I politely asked her if she was Ma’am Gina.

 

She turned her face to me then replied, “Ako si Karen. Si Gina, nasa McDo.” (“I am Karen. Gina is at McDo.”)

I weighed things. Did I offend her? Was she insulted by my question? Was I wrong? Was the lady a total stranger to me?

 

But why did she greet me with a smile?

 

After some ten or fifteen minutes, the male bank teller called, “Miss Karen…” The lady stood up then went to the male bank teller who called.

 

So, she must really be Miss Karen as she had told me. As her transaction was over, she headed for the door, looked back and smiled at me again.

 

After the lady exited the door, the middle aged man sitting beside me smilingly looked at me then commented, “Parang McDo a!” (Looks like McDo, huh!”) referring to an old McDonald’s commercial.

 

After I had exited the bank I was still thinking who that lady could be and where I had interaction with her. Until I accidentally came across Ying, a former co-employee.

I narrated to Ying my story and asked her where I could have met Karen and she replied, “Could she be Karen Magno of the Business Center? She’s now Officer in Charge of the Manufacturing Group.”

 

“Oh, yes! She’s Karen Magno!” I exclaimed.

I knew Karen. She was then Account Officer and we often met at the Account Evaluation Committee (AEC) meeting when I was our Office’s representative to the AEC. But that was more than five years ago.

 

And my mind was back to peace. 

EVERY TIME IT RAINS

A heavy downpour

As I was writing this piece, there was a heavy downpour.  While watching the raindrops fall and listening to the sound they created, a familiar scene suddenly flashed across my mind bringing back some poignant memories. 

In my teens, someone gave me a card where the lyrics of the song "I'll Be Back" by The Beatles were printed. As though making a promise, he wrote at the back of the card an excerpt  from a poem written by Angela Manalang Gloria. And it went like this: 

"You shall not forget

For I am past forgetting

I shall come to you again

With the starlight

And the scent of wild champakas

And the melody of rain." 

Such a very eloquent and deeply moving piece of poetry! 

He was the guy I used to call my best friend. That was when he was still his old authentic self -- kind, humble, refined, timid, soft-spoken, very thoughtful! We had many things and traits in common. I'd say, apart from my mother's unconditional love, his friendship was the best thing that ever happened to me. 

True enough, whenever it rained, he had always come back. Equipped with an umbrella, he would come and ask me to roam around with him. And, despite the weather, it was a most exhilarating experience. Because he made me feel wanted... and needed. He made me feel so very important. 

Sadly, though, with the passing of days (and years), my friend radically changed. The change in his economic status likewise changed his character and the way he dealt with me. 

Even though he's no longer around now, and as if to fulfill the old promise he made, every time it rains, he always comes back. 

But only in my memory. 

MOVIE REVIEW (HINDI TAYO PWEDE)

(NOTE: This is a late blog entry. On March 4, 2020, my close friend, Belen Crescini, called me up and told me she and Nelia were going to see a movie and asked me if I'd like to go with them. I said yes so  we went to the Ayala Malls Cinema.)

Gaudz, Belen and Nelia inside Ayala Malls Cinema

THE MOVIE

"Hindi Tayo Pwede" starred Marco Gumabao, Lovie Poe and Tony Labrusca.

The movie was about lovers Tony and Lovie and best of friends Marco and Lovie.

When Tony met a car accident that took his life, his ghost kept on following Lovie. Lovie was the only person who could still see, touch, feel and talk to him. 

Marco then had the chance to express his love for Lovie whom he had secretly loved for so long. Lovie eventually fell for Marco, too, but the jealous ghost interfered and would not let go of Lovie. 

On one occasion, while Lovie was driving, Tony's ghost kept on nagging her until she lost control of the car and met an accident. Lovie, however, survived the incident. 

When Lovie was rushed to the hospital, Tony felt guilty and sorry for what had happened. 

As Marco was attending to Lovie, he sensed the presence of Tony's ghost and pleaded with him to just forget about Lovie since they now belonged to different worlds. And Tony obliged. 

MY REACTION 

Love can sometimes be fleeting. Short-lived. 

But love can also be so enslaving that it becomes a controlling spirit that interferes in unhealthy ways in our lives. If this is the case, we should try our best to free ourselves from this irrational force so as to be guided by reason. 

There are also other things and persons that control and lead us to living miserable lives -- traumatic past experiences, an oppressive leader or boss, a domineering parent, or even customs and traditions that no longer apply to the present. We MUST break away from these controlling spirits in order to keep our sanity intact. 

But, of course, this is easier said than done.