I saw her lingering at a distance. She was barefoot, wearing a long, brown, shabby overcoat. She looked quite neat, her hair rolled in a bun. She met my gaze and her eyes lighten up. I felt uncomfortable as I was trying to break off the glance. She started to walk toward me. She walked as if she had something squeezed between her legs. I’d thought she had a bad case of hemorrhoids or worse, she just had an abortion gone wrong. Kidding aside… When she was nearing, I realized she was quite old. She looked tired but hopeful.

“Iho, magandang umaga.”, (“Son, good morning.”), she said in whisper-kind-like voice.

“Ako po’y iniwan ng aking kamag-anak. Umuwi sila papuntang Nueva Ecija na hindi ako kasama.” (“My family left me. They left for Nueva Ecija without me”).

“Hingi po sana ako ng P187.50 pamasahe pauwi.” (“Please give me 187.50 pesos for my fare going home”). Her eyes almost brimmed with tears.

I felt pity for the old woman. I reached out for my wallet and handed out two crumpled P100 bills.

“Maraming salamat,po.” (“Thank you, very much”), she blurted and went off.

It felt good having to help someone in need until… the next day. I saw the same old woman by the street, talking to some people. I heard she was asking some money from those people. The people took pity on her and gave her money. The old woman, met my gaze but quickly broke off. She must have recognized me from the other day. She quickly scurried off. I approached the people whom she talked to and asked them what did she ask. They told me she was asking for 187.50, for a fare ride to back to Nueva Ecija. I told them that she was asking the same thing from me the other day. Their jaws dropped after what I have told them. When they left off, I started to feel so stupid. I have been bamboozled by a professional beggar!

Professional beggars! This is just a term that I just coined. You will find them along the streets of Ayala Avenue, in Buendia, along the busy business areas in Makati. They’re so good, that they could pass as actors and actresses. They would look so pitiful, they would ask for money for fare back to whatever province. Some of them carry small children as props to add to the “pitiful” effect. You can be fooled if it’s your first time to encounter them. My friend, Bryan, had his most blunder encounter with this professional beggar. He was riding on a jeep and from the window, he saw this old man, bent low, crouching and holding his belly. His face seemed to be in agonizing pain. My friend stopped the jeep, went off and approached this man. The old man told him that he had a disease somewhere in his belly and it’s causing him pain. Needless to say, my friend got his wallet and gave his crispy and whopping P1000 bill! He even prayed for this old man. When he left off, he thanked God to be able help a man in need.. until a week after, he saw again this old man, along the same street, doing his act! Now, go figure what happens next.

Sometimes I wonder why all of these people are here in this world? Are they just desperate to have money? Who are these people? Where would the money go? To their families? To a syndicate? (Just remember Slumdog Millionaire). Why can they stomach fooling people to make a living? All these questions. Sometimes, these things angered me but I guess, I can’t pinpoint any reason to, or put the blame on society, or to the government because I might know only a bit of the bigger chunk of the ice. Who am I to judge these people? I really don’t know. But what I do know is that on my next encounter with a professional beggar, I’ll just ignore and go on with my business.

Labels: beggar, makati, modus, operandi, scam

I'm feeling much better now after five days of being sick. I should have been extra careful, extra precautious especially at this time of the year. For the past three years, when October comes, this allergy, Allergic Rhinitis commonly known as "Hay Fever" peak during this time. Sometimes you can't distinguish it with the common flu (or worse, AH1N1) because it had flu-like symptoms. First you have the fever. Your body thinks that the allergens are like some foreign bacteria thus raising your body temperature as if ready for battle. The immune system can't distinguish a common bacteria and an allergen, so sadly it's like fighting off itself. The second and the main manifestation is excessive mucus secretion of the sinus. Once the sinuses are irritated by certain triggers like lack of sleep, stressors, cold temperature, or pollens, etc, it secretes the nastiest, colorless and stickiest mucus enough to fill a liter of coke overnight - and of course the endless tirade of sneezing, goo dripping under your nose that come along with it. The sinus also is inflamed and flared causing pressure against your face. The buildup of mucus also adds to this pressure, causing head splitting headaches and burning sensation and tearing of the eyes. Third is the cough. Why cough? The mucus does not not only drip in your nose, it also drips behind your nasal cavity via your throat, thus irritating it.

Hay fever usually lasts 3 to 5 days. If you're lucky after 3 days you'll be okay. I took a leave from work last Monday to rest and I went back to work last Tuesday which is a mistake because that's when the sneezing and the coughing got worse. By Tuesday night, I was burning with fever and thought I was going to die with headache. I texted my friends to pray for me amidst my panic desperation. For a split second, I felt so helpless, wishing someone could take care of me Naks. Seriously, I remembered my nanay when I was young who brought the medicines by the bedside, who bought me Royal Tru Orange and Oishi prawn crackers whenever I have fever. But now, I live alone, in this urban jungle called Makati Business District to live off as an "independent adult person". I have to drag myself off from the bed, even if I can barely carry myself to the drugstore to buy my meds and go to Ministop to buy food. What a hard life! For a split second, I wished I was still back home, still seven years old being taken care of. How I missed those years - those years that I haven't appreciated back then until now.

Well so much for the drama. LOL. I'm OK now and thinking of going to the movies later...

I took a leave from work today. I woke up with a runny nose, slight headache, a fever and gnashy feeling against my throat. I looked on my cellphone to check what time is it. It's alrady 8AM. I overslept. I went to the bathroom to pee and looked in the mirror to say "You look good, today." But nothing came out. I lost my voice... and I'm not convinced I looked good either.

12 hours rewind, I was in the church in VCF Galleria. The worship team played Leeland's, "Beautiful Lord", one of my favorite contemporary christian songs. Back then, my throat was already dry with a slight "raspy" feeling but I forced myself to sing kasi paboritong kanta ko nga, parang pag suki mong kanta sa bidjoke, lagi mo siya kinakanta. The determined singer that I am was sure to hit the high notes on that quick transpose to the song's bridge... I did it ... broke into slur in a gay-ish falsetto, and spitting loads of saliva to the person in front of me. The guy beside me gave that WTF look.

Of course, I kept it cool. (But no I didn't) I pretended that I was just into passionate worship. Who could argue with that? Quoting Giuseppe Povia, "No one can tell a man who he is at his core.". LOL. Anyway, I couldn't speak without hurting my throat after that.

I haven't drank anything special to ease off the pain or took some medicine. I am well rested now and drank lots of water. Thanks to my friends who barrage me with SMS wishing me to get well, drink a lot of water and pineapple juice, not to eat fastfood food.

Labels: andy's undies, fever, singing, throat, worship

I have been thinking of posting again in Andy's Undies. It has been almost a year since I went into hiatus due to some personal stuff going in me. Out of my silent and dumb moments, I just decided to write again.

For most of my readers (if I have one in the first place), Andy's Undies is known as a collection of my spiritual reflections. I do post some personal stuff or stuff that interest me but I kept them to a minimum. But I guess now, Andy's Undies expands to different interests which reflects also the other aspects of my [melancholic] personality.

Aside from being spiritual (not religious okay), I am also into a lot of things which the Christian world horribly despise as secular - like rock music for example. The church is quite divided on incorporating rock music into church services.

The past year has been quite interesting for me. I have indulged into a lot of new things. Last year, I bought a DSLR camera, a Nikon D60 which I absolutely love and explored my love for photography. It has been fulfilling being exposed to the photography ghetto and learning photography ghetto-speak like apertures, exposures, white balance,bokeh, etc. Also being involved in a camera club is quite an experience too. But a year forward, I decided to stay away from the "ghetto" and explored photography on my own. Sure, I can learn from the experience of others but I believe that photography is really a personal journey, where you can be creative in your pictures using your own style.

Last year, I decided to learn to play basketball. I have never learned to play basketball growing up because maybe I was such an anti-social obscure kid. LOL. But I longed to play growing up but just can't (for some unexplainable reason). I grabbed a few guys like myself and hired a coach to teach us how to play. After a few months, the coach that we hired can't train us anymore since he had an upcoming league to supervise. Right in time, a friend volunteered to teach us. Fast forward, we're now a team.

So many things to tell but I'd reserve it next time. Had other things to do for this day.

Mandug? Where the hell is that place? Can I find it in the map? Of course you can. Try using Google Earth or Wikimapia. If you will have a hard time locating it, try tracing Davao River from Davao Gulf upstream, surely, you can't miss Mandug along the way.

Almost half of my entire life was spent growing up in a remote barangay in Davao City named Mandug. Life was simple then. By six in the morning, I would be awaken by the sound of the airplane roaring above our house, doing its daily rounds of fertilizer spray of the bananas in Lapanday Plantation that surrounds our village. When I was in Grade 4, my Dad used to tune in to an AM station every morning which airs a Muslim prayer every 6AM. When I hear that distinct chant, I know it's time to wake up. By 7 then, we would be on our way to school w/ my younger brother and sister and we meet our classmates who are also our neighbors. Almost everyone knew each other and even the not-so-secret lives of a wife in another block. It was a small community then.

Mandug, as small as it is, is surrounded by big mysteries of the paranormal - of earth-bound creatures roaming above the silence of the pitch black hills and meadows, of the the mysterious kidnappings of small children by some rumored dark spirits. Far away, you could hear faint but horrible cries of torture and you know a witch rite has been going on and someone has been sacrificed ... and so are the other endless tales people tell to each other.

Listening to scary paranormal stories was my favorite when I was a kid. I used to have a classmate named Catalina (we called her Cathy) and she had lots of scary stories to tell, mostly from her own experiences. The scariest story Cathy ever told us was about the old mango tree at the back of our school. I remember that mango tree. It was unusually large, with a wide trunk and rough, hardened barks. There are moss growing on them and when you'll look at them, they seem to look like eyes. Its branches spread outwards covering a large area and providing shades for small animals like goats, 'carabaos', etc. If it had lots of dangling roots, you'd think it would be a balete tree. Anyway, according to Cathy, she went to the restroom alone one day and she had to pass by near the mango tree on her way. She was alone as classes are ongoing and suddenly the roots suddenly clung to her foot and when she can't move, she uttered this weird spell and the roots let go of her. We don't know if Cathy ever told the truth of that story or any of her stories.

The other tales circulating around is the tale of the "Sigbin". According to the myth, passed by word-of-mouth, the "Sigbin" is a dark creature mostly resembling a very black dog. According to the stories, it eats small children and is also fond of eating squash. When I was in grade school there are numerous events that marked the disappearance of small children. And according to the grapevine, they were eaten by the "Sigbin". Our maid used to scare us if we don't go home from play when darkness falls, we will be eaten by "Sigbin". I have never seen one in my entire life let alone believe that it's true but you bet, for kids who get scared by mere thoughts of monster, it's effective.

The other fascinating tale that I also know and partly experience (or so I thought) is the story of Maria de Cacao. I'm not familiar with her story but according to the grapevine. When 12 o' clock midnight strikes, you could hear Maria de Cacao's ship passing along Davao River. What's striking about it is that you can't see the ship but you can hear the sound of the engine even if you are miles and miles away. Cool, huh. I used to remember one night, I think I was in high school at that time, that I woke up near midnight and suddenly I heard a ship's engine wailing in the silence of the night. I find it strange because our house was quite far from the river and then I remembered the story of Maria de Cacao.

There are other numerous tales which are worth telling but I guess it would take another 2 or 3 paragraphs. Maybe next time perhaps. Mandug for me remains, an old ancient place, as my mind would give it. Despite, the new internet shops sprouting in every corner as I go there once a year, the memory of it, as seen from my childhood eyes, would make that place somewhat special for me.