lam-uk

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“do you want a ride?”, a smiling couple stopped after some minutes when i told my companions - - “let us try hitchhiking”

the mini bus was old. it was painted blue, the seat covers were old too - pink and blue streaks. Arnold and Jeane are Herbalife distributors. they gave us a free lift from Tiptop down to Session Road. as i sat there, my heart felt a kind of warmth that i haven’t felt before. feelings are interesting, you can try to categorize them but it’s impossible to put them into clear bottles and LABEL. let us say, it was a kind of warmth that sings a random acts of kindness song. 

back in Iloilo, i brought 4 books. 3 from Shila -Introduction to Zen Buddhism (very old, yellow pages, smells so awesome), Awakening of Zen Buddhism (very interesting cover and a torn plastic) and Intuitive Learning  (thick and instructional and it makes me curious) and Inky gave me The Invisible Child - on reading and writing Children’s Book (smells new, covered blue. Inky is a lovely artist. we collaborated on a song 5 years ago via Deviant Art). I started to read the oldest book. But more than the book, it’s the corners walked and moments shared that enriched me. it’s interesting how brief and\ encounter is and when you move on, you feel a pinch of change somewhere inside you. nothing beats first-hand experience i guess.

back in the pine cones the third time after 11 years. it’s good to see and feel a place when you are “older”. if i have to compare it to another activity, it would have to be reading the Little Prince at 26. crowded city. starting to lose it’s old buildings. but the art is still there: quirky shops, hip bookstores, artsy cafes. parks full of beggars, small rakets (pose with a dog and pay, pose with Igorot costume and pay, massage, boat ride, horse ride, mats for naps), taxi cabdrivers who would spin you around and charge you 83 (this is why walking does wonders unless you’re off for a farther spot). well, everyone is trying to survive. but since Philippine cities do not fascinate me that much,i invited my buddies to surf at my friend’s couch. she named her home on top of the hill, SKY.

indeed, it was difficult to leave. 20 meters up there, closer to the clouds and the stars.

You sit on the porch, and these wonders of creation gaze at you: dangling lime fruits, pine trees, sayote tops, sunflowers, two Sagada huts, an old bench, an old tree swing, old pails lined up, misty grasses, and old fire place, blooming flowers, mint and basil. you can just imagine her way of living and consuming. this is what i like about meeting new people, you get to see how they handle things and how they think and you get to re-assess yours. it’s like taking a peek and finding out if it can also work for you or the other way around.

 when we had to leave, i turned my back and could feel that Shila was walking into her nook, walking slowly with her free flowing hair touching her arms, the windows welcomed fresh cold breeze and the laughter last night  over road trips and Ilonggo humor—flew into the old kettles.

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