Gaguhan Lang....

Sobra akong nagulat nung malaman ko. Nagsinungaling siya. Ginago nya ako. Kahapon lang nung nagchat kami. Tinanong ko siya. Tinanggi nya. Hindi daw. At naniwala naman ako. Nanghingi pa nga ako ng payo. Nanghinayang din siya para sa akin. Sana daw kinuha ko na agad. Maswerte daw kung sinuman ang nakauna.

Tapos....wala pang 24 oras, malalaman ko sa iba na yung bagay na gusto ko ay nasa kanya lang pala. Di ba isang maliwanag na panggagago yun. Para akong binuhusan ng tubig na hindi ko mawari kung kumukulo o mala-yelo ang lamig. Ang mas nakakainis, napakasimpleng isyu lang naman ito - ni hindi nga makaka-isang porsyento man lang sa lebel ng mga usaping dyamante o ginto. At para magsingulang siya sa isang kaibigan dahil sa ganitong napakaliit na bagay, walang kaduda-dudang nanggagago siya.

Sorry daw. Gusto lang nya ng pribadong buhay kaya hindi sya umamin agad. Anak ng.....ginawa nya talagang big deal! Para na rin niyang sinabing hindi ako mapagkakatiwalaan. Pinagmukha akong tanga para lang masiguro ang personal na proteksiyon. Proteksiyon saan? Sa tsismis daw. Wow, napakalayo naman ng narating ng imahinasyon nya! Hindi ko talaga maintindihan. At sa palagay ko, hindi na darating ang araw na maiintindihan ko pa.

Pero naisip ko, bakit ba ako nanggagalaiti? Patas lang kami. Ginago ko din naman siya - at sa mas malaki at mabigat na dahilan. Minahal ko ang taong minahal nya. O mas akma yatang sabihin na....minamahal ko ang taong minamahal pa din niya. Nakakatawa di ba? Pagdating sa pag-ibig, walang imposible. Lahat pwedeng gawin ng taong nagmamahal. Marahil sa pagitan naming dalawa, ako ang mas nangtraydor. Ako ang mas nanggago. At hanggang ngayon, wala siyang kamalay-malay. Sana manitili na lang itong sikreto habang buhay. Pasensyahan na lang. Isang simpleng tao lang ako na nagmamahal. Gayunpaman, ayos na din. Pareho lang naman kaming talo eh. Pareho kaming hindi gusto. Masuwerte siya. Nabigyan siya ng pagkakataon dati. Pero nagpabaya sya. At ang pagkakataon nyang iyon ay mabilis na umikli hanggang sa tuluyang nawala. Buti nga! Hahaha...

Hay......ang buhay nga naman. Kadalasan, gulangan na lang. Salamat sa puso kong hindi naturuan kung kanino dapat tumibok, pero natutong tumarantado. Para sa mga susunod na hamon, alam ko na kung paano makipagsabayan, dito sa mundong puno ng gaguhan lang.

Finally....

T'was 7 in the morning. I got up early, prepared a nice breakfast and took a shower. My adrenaline was rushing. This was a big day!

I met MG, PM and Angie at RCBC Plaza. It has been months since I last saw these girls. Their warm smiles (even after some tiring hours of night duty) greeted me and that simply coated my heart with bliss. Lucky us - we instantly got a pretty decent cab with a very kind "manong" on the driver's seat. We were heading to Hidalgo to ease my "itching" (please don't think of anything naughty....hahaha) because I've been dying to get my first SLR for weeks.

On the way, the four of us had a long chat....about everyone...about everything. But most of the talks were focused on me. What keeps me busy? How are my applications? What companies are good to target? How much is my final pay? The last question eventually led them to ask for some Kuripot Tips. So I gave "tips". I shared some "control" stories which sounded ridiculous to them rather than convincing. And in between the laughs, I consistently instilled my complains of having to pee. Their chuckles kept coming. That was fine anyway. I missed the bullying. Few minutes more, we were on the place. We went to Jollibee first. It turned out that all of us had our own call of nature. I didn't mind. Afterall, we needed to release these negativities to become more effective in doing the art of bargaining - something I was never good at, and perhaps will never be.

So the mission began. We were greeted by a jolly Kuya on the first store. I wanted D40, by the way, an SLR good enough for starters and wannabe's. The first offer was P23k, with bag and 2GB usb until it went down to a package of the unit, bag and 4GB usb at P22.5k. Not bad. But we moved on to the next, to more Kuyas and Ates, with offers from P22.5k to P24k, with/without bag and 2GB/4GB usb. Actually, I couldn't remember the exact packages 'coz I never did the talking and haggling. My friends did. It was always that way. Yeah.....I missed the spoiling, too.
It seemed the first Kuya had the best price so far....until we reached Henry's. Ate said P21.8k, with bag and 4GB usb. Then came MG's, PM's and Angie's planned magic. P20k - P21k - P21.1k - P21.2k - P21.3k. At P21.4k, Ate appeared to give up and told us to ask the boss. Angie did the honor and her charms made us save P50 more. Not bad as well, honestly.....hehehe. For P21,450, my bag turned a "D40" heavier as we went out the store.
It was a typical hot day. Our bodies needed rewards for taking home a good deal. We ordered pizza, lasagna, tacos and a rice meal (for me, obviously) at Greenwich. Orders were completely served but I enjoyed taking my first few test shots before laying my hand on the food. It was great. I was like a 10 year-old girl grasping her first batteried toy. We ate, talked more, laughed more but also sighed more. At around 1, we waved goodbyes.

PM and I took a cab going to Makati. Thanks to another Kuya who helped us get Avanza, wide and comfortable enough to rest our backs. There were more talking. There were more sharing. She stepped out when we reached RCBC Plaza and I realized that I was alone again. I had to admit. I sensed a guilty feeling. I've been bum for months now. And yet, I've been making a lot of spending. I glanced on the window and I saw the image of Bo Sanchez screaming right on my face. LIVE LIKE A DYING MAN! Just like a lightning, my mind again became crystal clear. I may have thrown away more bucks from my perishing pocket.

But who cares? I have my precious SLR......






.....and I have my precious friends.