Millenial Talk

 Hi, M!

Sinalubong ako ng aking kaibigan habang papasok ng Swagat sa Rada.

G! Wie geht`s dir? Tanong niya

G! Kamusta ka na?

Mir geht`s gut! Ang aking sagot.

I am good!

Lange nicht gesehen. Dagdag pa niya.

Long time, no see.

Stimmt ja. Sabi ko.

Tama ka.

Last time I saw him was 2023. Napakatagal na panahon para sa akin na umuuwi lamang sa Pinas bawat taon.

Natuwa naman ako at nagkita kami, kahit na may online class pala siya nun at nagtuturo siya habang hinihintay kami at ang iba pa naming mga kasama.

Halos 2 oras rin kaming naghihintay doon. Dahil late dumating ang 2 naming mga kaibigan.

Si K. Na probably kilala ng mga iba rito, na dating blogger din.

At si D. Dating workmate ko na naging close ko at sa kanya ako dati nagpapaturo ng mga complex cases sa aking Masteral.

Anyway, dumating si D na may hangover.

G! Sorry, I`m late! I got drunk with our former colleagues. Mga couple of years na rin kami kasing hindi nakapag-bonding.

Hay, okay lang iyan. Sambit ko.

Ano pa bang magagawa ko? Mabuti at tumuloy siya kahit masakit ulo niya.

Then came K with his long-term partner.

Hay. Nainggit ako ng very light.

I greeted them with a beso and we all sat down the table.

G! Sorry late. We ate somewhere na kasi.

His partner grinned. Medyo shy and timid lagi partner niya, but he does warm up once the conversation starts.

So ano na nga bang bago? I asked them one-by-one.

Si M, hininto muna yung PhD niya. Nagfo-fokus muna siya sa kanyang pagtuturo. Naiintindihan ko rin naman. Nakakapagod pagsabayin ang pag-aaral at pagtuturo.

Mukhang masaya naman siya sa purong pagtuturo. And he is compensated well.

Si D, ayaw magsalita. Potang babaeng iyon. Wala man lang akong mapigang impormasyon.

Oh well. Move on.

Si K, ayun, masaya pa rin sa work. Ang tagal na niya sa trabaho niya. Pero ngayon more of managerial responsibilities na raw siya. Less editing. Less work abroad.

G, Napagod na ako kakabiyahe for work. Dagdag niya.

Talaga? I asked him.

Kasi when we were younger tuwang-tuwa siya pag lalabas siya ng bansa: Hongkong, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.

Pero ganoon nga siguro pag nag-ma-mature ka na. Mas gusto mo nang magpahinga, probably more of leisurely travel.

Nagpunta raw sila ng kanyang partner sa France at Spain.

Potacah! I was in Paris last September! Bakit hindi mo ako sinabiihan? I jokingly said.

Nung last week of August pa kami doon. Barcelona was our last stop. He replied.

Sabihan mo naman ako kailan ka pupunta dito! Kaloka ka. I told him.

Low priority ko kasi ang Germany.

Then choose an EU country and then doon kita kikitain. Sabi ko.

The wine they ordered just arrived.

I was hesitant to drink with them, pero sige na nga. One glass of wine will do.

So ikaw, G, kamusta bakasyon mo dito?

They asked.

Good. I gulped a small quantity of wine in my throat.

Part 1

Mor(t)ality

 Wala na si Rafa...

His cousin messaged me on FB last Thursday.

I peeked into her profile.

And there he is...

A picture frame with his innocent smile.

Hindi ko ma-proseso ang mga pangyayari.

My ex-partner died.

He died because of suffering too much - from childhood to adulthood.

I placed my phone down.

Umiyak.

Humagulgol.

Humahanap ng kasagutan sa kawalan.

This guy.

This guy who I shared some beautiful moments together is gone.

And honestly, I was looking forward on seeing him again when I come home.

Pero iba na pala ang sasalubong sa akin.

Hindi ko lubos maisip na wala na siya.

Nakapaloob sa isang kwadradong kahon.

Napakasakit.

I really can`t put it into words.

Sana...

Sana bukas o makalawa, humapo nitong pighating nararamdaman ko.

Meron rin akong pabor sa inyo...

Please seek help.

Please ask help.

There is help.

We can help.

If you would let us...

Rafa, sana naririnig mo mga samo ko.

You will always have a place in my heart.

Till the day I die.

We will see each other soon.

I promise.

Of First Worlds and Third Worlds

"Ich kann dich nicht einchecken."

Hindi kita mai-check-in.

The airline personnel told me upfront.

"Wieso?"

How come? I asked.

"Braucht ein Oman Visa."

Kailangan mo ng Oman Visa.

"Aber ich bleib dort nur für ungefähr 4 Stunden. Ich gehe nirgendwo."

Pero magtatagal lang ako doon ng 4 na oras. Wala akong ibang pupuntahan.

"Es tut mir leid."

I am sorry.

So I was in a bit of a panic last Saturday when the staff told me that I cannot fly unless I apply for an Oman Visa.

Okay.

Pero ang weird kasi the flight from Muscat to Manila kept being delayed and delayed until the time that I will be staying in Oman territory for more than 24 hours.

So what`s the first thing I thought of?

Get an Oman Visa.

Naisip ko let`s get one.

I checked the website and they could issue a Visa the fastest within 2 days.

Oh good grief.

Plan B.

What if I could change my flight to an earlier date the next day?

I immediately went to the Special Assistance counter and asked what I need to do.

Unfortunately she too cannot help me.

They could fly me from Berlin to Oman, but I still need to call the airline for my connecting flight to the PHL.

At this time, I was getting a mix of emotions.

Irritation - because this was so inconvenient on the day of my flight

Anger - because this was so infuriating

Anxiety - because I could not think of any other solution

And so I checked immediately an app to check for flights for today.

Hey, I was already at the airport. My luggage and backpack are already with me.

I was also thinking of not going to the Philippines anymore.

Pero that`s BS. I booked this flight since January of the year.

Jusko. The disappointment on my face was truly evident.

At yun na nga. No choice. Sige na. Ilaban na ito.

My parents are waiting for me.

My pets are waiting for me.

My relatives and friends are all waiting for me.

I calculated my savings...

No choice. I need to get from my emergency fund.

Hayaan mo na. I will just deal with this mess later.

Ang importante maka-book at makasakay ako today.

Period.

After a few negotiations with my cousin, he booked me a flight.

Nagpasalamat talaga ako!

Pero grabe.

Naramdaman ko gaano kahina ng ating Passport bilang Filipino.

Oman. A place where thousands of Filipinos are serving. Requires Visa also for us.

Napaka-ironic.

Pero thankful pa din kasi kahit na nai-stress ako doon.

Kahit na nawalan ako ng malaking pera.

Kahit na nagbawas ako to the point na wala na akong pasalubong para sa mga kamag-anak ko.

The flight was smooth. The service was superb. The food served was excellent.

Habang tinitipa ko itong sulatin na ito sa aking laptop, nananalangin pa rin ako na sana umayos na rin ang gobyerno natin.

We are getting more and more famous around the world for all the wrong reasons.

The hope is still there.