Tonight is my last night in Manila in my apartment. Tomorrow I pack up and go back home to San Pablo. I came into this thing many months ago to do a couple of specific things and I expected no more when I left. But the thing is, I am coming home with something more than I had ever expected. It was a great experience living on my own in Manila, working for myself, paying my own way in the big city. That in itself is an enriching experience. But I also come away with some great friendships that will endure for a long time. For the latter most of all, I'm really grateful.
But tonight I guess I can't help but feel just a little depressed. I don't want to leave the friendships I've forged and the place I had grown accustomed to. I've been living in Malate for seven months and the fact that its the #1 hang-out/gimmick place in Manila has totally slipped my mind. Aside from a small get together with some friends a couple months back, I really haven't gone out and just loosen up. I guess I will do just that tonight. I wanna get DRUNK. I wanna go CRAZY! I wanna go PARTY! But I'm all by myself so that can get a little uh...boring I guess. I'll go anyway and see just what happens.
I felt strange all day. It was a nice night last night but I woke up with a headache. I spent part of the morning in bed and part of it out. After lunch I headed over to Megamal to meet with Leinil for some Superman pages. He said that I shouldn't ink the Clark Kent faces yet because they need to be changed or something. Ok then. He's off to Boracay tomorrow. Man, I'd love to go to Boracay. In fact, I should be in DAVAO RIGHT NOW.
And why am I not in Davao right now? Because of old women. Yes, OLD WOMEN. People here in the Philippines put GREAT stock in what really old women say, superstitions that have been handed down through generations. And one such superstition is that I shouldn't go travelling to far off places immediately before I get married. Because well, something COULD HAPPEN. Jeez. What a crock of shit. I was supposed to attend the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) Conference in Davao roundabout this time. My fiancee said I shouldn't go. My folks said I shouldn't go. Because OLD WOMEN says so. I don't normally stand for such superstition because in my 34 years I have come to learn to QUESTION things before accepting them blindly. But when the president of the UAP told me not to go as well, then what more could I do? I kid you not. OLD WOMEN is a force to be reckoned with. They ought to be characters in a comic book. They can kick serious ass.
