These Foolish Things Remind Me of You

The dark and stormy evenings have taken their departures for now, but to me, they departed just a night too late. Seems like my body was ill prepared for going from a country (Taiwan) that’s having its summer season to another (Philippines) that’s having its rainy season. At Wednesday, I was sneezing like mad. By Thursday, I had to skip work to keep this cold from escalating to a fever.

I should be thankful that my sickness didn’t turn out that bad, and all I needed to do was to stay away from air-conditioned rooms for two days. Being bedridden meant that I either got to sleep a lot, or that I got to lie on my bed, fully awake, for a long time. For most part, it’s the latter. For most part, that’s for the worse, because for being awake yet being too sick for most activities, I had only a thing to do to pass the time, and that was to think.

So I began recalling the things that happened since last Sunday, the day I came back to Philippines. The flight I took was less than spectacular; being delayed by stormy weathers, I was airborne for an hour longer than scheduled.

Come Monday, I was working again. I felt welcomed by my coworkers, and I had some animated conversations with them about how my vacation went. Things didn’t look too bad.

It wasn’t until I made my rounds to some of my most visited blogs that I started to feel nauseous again. And how fitting a word nauseous is to describe what I felt about our president’s State of the Nation Address. Aside from that, there’s Bangsamoro, which has been sounding less and less fabulous as each day passes. There are also all the verbal abuses going on in Filipino Voices, and, frankly, I think I’ve had enough of the misanthropist comments from one of its most “prolific” authors.

Oh, but that’s not all, because the Pinoy blogging community always has something to show about human conditions. First, it tells you that we are so wont to nitpick: I’ve read more than a dozen of entries lecturing people on how to behave in plurk, as if what goes on in plurk has so paramount an importance. Second, it tells you that when people argue a point, they have to intensify their stance by using swear words: we can no longer advice others to grow up, now we have to ask others to f the s-of-a-b-ing grow yo ass up. Third, it tells you that if someone popular makes enemies, everyone will jump to the popular one’s defense without even examining the reality of the situation: unsurprisingly, I just witnessed another blog “turf” war originating from a disdainful prolific blogger; I was too lazy to fully investigate, but that one looked petty, and of course no one has ever thought that practicing tolerance may just solve a lot of problems. Fourth, it tells you that some people make a scene just for the sake of making a scene: and what could be better examples of that than moaning about plurk, posting cuss-ridden comments, and starting blog wars?

Sigh. Welcome back, o normal life. I’m so thrilled to see you again!

I may have too prematurely come back to my normal life. Maybe that’s how everyone feels after having a great vacation, but I’ve never as intensely pined to return to the days that have just passed. I find it odd, because I was never this emotionally attached to Taiwan, yet I just left it so reluctantly.

Of course, I feel all that because of Synergy. At any time, I would remember, with so much lucidity, all the things its members have done: Kim would tirelessly lead the group. Jonathan would work so hard in setting up the audio equipments. Jesse would lend everyone his unending supply of earphones. Colton would impersonate Bush. Lindsay S would read her Ruruoni Kenshin manga. Katie would say how boring she is (and I would disagree). Kyle would laugh at the gibberish the bus driver mutters. Laurel and Alexi would take me to the stage and mess my messy hair. Michelle would praise my sister. Jared would tease my sister. Randy would talk to me about pretty much everything. Bergandee would haggle with the supercute vendor from Shimending. Benjamin would read his poem. DJ would exclaim my Chinese name. Natalie would hug me when I give her cranberry juices. Dave would play the Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai DVD’s he has bought. Allie would offer me her cereal bars and I would love how they taste (but no thanks to the licorice). Dantzel would tell me how she would welcome me to Utah anytime. Lindsay D would always dance so lithely. Vanessa would sing with such intense melismata. Together, they would perform for the crowd that pays for their concerts, but they would also sing just for a lucky couple. Oh how the memories of them cling!

They’re so lively, so overflowing with youthful energies. Now that they’re far from where I am, everything is quiet again. I miss them, and I can’t deny it. The dark and stormy evenings have departed now, but I still got sick. On the grander scheme, though, my getting sick may not be too bad, because I got to think about Synergy and to feel inspired again. Once I recover, I shall work toward reaching the higher ground that I should be reaching.

But whatever. I still miss Synergy; so badly at that, I don’t even know how to end this blog post, so I’ll just post an Aztec poem instead:

FRIENDSHIP

Like a quetzal plume, a fragrant flower,

friendship sparkles:

like heron plumes, it weaves itself into finery.

Our song is a bird calling out like a jingle:

how beautiful you make it sound!

Here, among flowers that enclose us,

among flowery boughs you are singing.