it's december 2010.
the nights are getting colder. your happiness, loneliness, or apathy gets multiplied tenfold.
if you don't have someone to come home to (or if that someone is thousands of miles away), your longing for that person grows.
still hanging onto an old memory? they will just flash back as if it was yesterday.
this is where i come in.
rewind december 2008: i was dumped by some girl.
fast forward to present: i walk along the places i used to see her, along this plot of land in manila called dapitan.
i'd suddenly rise from sleep and suddenly depart from our house and i'd walk along araneta avenue, head on to dapitan via banawe, then walk straight until i'd reach her school where i used to meet her on afternoons just to talk and share the cookies, brownies and other baked sweets she makes.
and yet again, it's like the wounds supposedly heal and here i am with the cutter to open it up again.
how emo. yech.
it's a december thing. nights are colder, emotions are multiplied tenfold.
goodbye, goodnight.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
5: i taste the sweetness in solitude, push it down my throat like pepsi blue
thursday, 12 august 2010
"17 past 7, the cold stormy night washed away the city lights...drifting away by the sea of red, white, and yellow."
this was one of those nights that i'd realize that even though i love what i'm doing, there's something that always bothers me. something's missing and you don't even know where to begin and fix it.
that sinking feeling that the world's getting cold and you're getting sicker by the moment.
after receiving news of re-structuring within the org, i kind of felt bad that the ideas that were to be initialized by our staff was to be put to naught. in just a short span of time, we were gaining ground on making our section as one where filipino netizens would read our articles as a primary news source.
but no. that was not to be.
even worse, a sudden sickness came around. probably flu-like symptoms from all the work i pushed myself to do, but at the time i'm writing this, i'm doing fine now.
probably another complication is that i can't separate work from my personal life right now. i've been trying to make friends (or at least a harmonious working environment) with those around me, but it seems that it's not really working out as i wished to.
just to get everything off my head, i played 1-2-3 on a random bus i rode in that ended around lrt-gil puyat (buendia). along edsa, i tried to get my head straight by looking at different billboards, the gloomy skyline on a stormy night, and the random people around me. eventually, with the sickness i was experiencing, i fell asleep on the turnaround.
luckily, i was able to hop on another bus headed to lawton. (and from this time on, i paid for my fare.)
taft avenue doesn't feel like the home i used to roam around in the 4+ years i spent there getting my degree. the places that i've learned to love there has slowly disappeared from my sight. the hollowed-out soul of the place is getting more obvious. (if i'd ever go back to greenhills, i'd probably feel the same)
to block out the empty sinking feeling, i closed my eyes again and woke up when my stop came around.
finally, after all that much detours i've made, i headed home on a bus that would pass by our part of the metro.
funny to note that with this round trip i took, i passed by almost all the schools that played in that day's uaap men's basketball doubleheader (so the games were as follows: ust vs. ue; feu vs. adamson) at araneta.
"minutes after midnight...the calm insues in the sea...no longer red, white, and yellow."
[this entry contains excerpts from "the sea of red white and yellow," a spoken word piece by diego de la paz]
"17 past 7, the cold stormy night washed away the city lights...drifting away by the sea of red, white, and yellow."
this was one of those nights that i'd realize that even though i love what i'm doing, there's something that always bothers me. something's missing and you don't even know where to begin and fix it.
that sinking feeling that the world's getting cold and you're getting sicker by the moment.
after receiving news of re-structuring within the org, i kind of felt bad that the ideas that were to be initialized by our staff was to be put to naught. in just a short span of time, we were gaining ground on making our section as one where filipino netizens would read our articles as a primary news source.
but no. that was not to be.
even worse, a sudden sickness came around. probably flu-like symptoms from all the work i pushed myself to do, but at the time i'm writing this, i'm doing fine now.
probably another complication is that i can't separate work from my personal life right now. i've been trying to make friends (or at least a harmonious working environment) with those around me, but it seems that it's not really working out as i wished to.
just to get everything off my head, i played 1-2-3 on a random bus i rode in that ended around lrt-gil puyat (buendia). along edsa, i tried to get my head straight by looking at different billboards, the gloomy skyline on a stormy night, and the random people around me. eventually, with the sickness i was experiencing, i fell asleep on the turnaround.
luckily, i was able to hop on another bus headed to lawton. (and from this time on, i paid for my fare.)
taft avenue doesn't feel like the home i used to roam around in the 4+ years i spent there getting my degree. the places that i've learned to love there has slowly disappeared from my sight. the hollowed-out soul of the place is getting more obvious. (if i'd ever go back to greenhills, i'd probably feel the same)
to block out the empty sinking feeling, i closed my eyes again and woke up when my stop came around.
finally, after all that much detours i've made, i headed home on a bus that would pass by our part of the metro.
funny to note that with this round trip i took, i passed by almost all the schools that played in that day's uaap men's basketball doubleheader (so the games were as follows: ust vs. ue; feu vs. adamson) at araneta.
"minutes after midnight...the calm insues in the sea...no longer red, white, and yellow."
[this entry contains excerpts from "the sea of red white and yellow," a spoken word piece by diego de la paz]
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
4: Train Poetry
Tuesday, 15 September 2009: V. Mapa -> Recto (LRT 2) / D. Jose (LRT 1) -> Blumentritt (LRT 1) -> Monumento (LRT 1) -> Baclaran (LRT 1) -> EDSA (LRT 1) / Taft (MRT 3) -> Araneta-Cubao
Day 2 of me using and abusing the LRT/MRT Flash Pass (get one for Php250/week...it's worth it if you keep on switching trains!) For the hell of it, I went down Blumentritt Station just to take photographs of the nightscene. Then, headed off to Monumento to start off the end-to-end trip. As I got to Baclaran, I went back in and went down to the EDSA station (to move to the MRT and went from end to end).
Day 2 of me using and abusing the LRT/MRT Flash Pass (get one for Php250/week...it's worth it if you keep on switching trains!) For the hell of it, I went down Blumentritt Station just to take photographs of the nightscene. Then, headed off to Monumento to start off the end-to-end trip. As I got to Baclaran, I went back in and went down to the EDSA station (to move to the MRT and went from end to end).
The scene in those trains I rode in was surreal. The coaches were half-empty and everyone in there were already in their own baubles, unmindful of anyone else who are stuck there with them; a direct opposite to the packed rush hour trains. And out of this experience, I was able to compose "Observations at the 7:45 PM Train" (Catch is, for you to get to know how that poem goes, you'll have to attend my gigs).
(Photos to come later on)
3: Malls are deathly boring.
Monday, 14 September 2009: Shaw Blvd - Magallanes - EDSA/Taft - Baclaran - United Nations Avenue
However you say it or package it, malls are boring places to go to. Period. This was the day that I got my LRT/MRT Flash Pass, which gives me UNLIMITED train rides for one week for only Php250 at Shaw Boulevard MRT station. Not bad for someone like me who goes to different places unexpectedly.
For quite some time now, I've passed by Magallanes on the MRT and noticed the Alphaland Southgate Mall. I was quite curious about what was in there and how it differed from other malls out there. So, I decided to make a stop there. And boy, was I disappointed. It is just like Greenhills in a smaller package and in a different place. How useless to stop by.
For a moment there, I forgot my personal mantra: MALLS ARE BORING, MALLS ARE USELESS UNLESS I NEED TO BUY STUFF. Well, so much for that.
Next stop was Taft Avenue. For a change, I thought of walking from the Taft MRT station to Baclaran LRT 1 station (yes, those two stations are actually near). The last time I was there (around the Baclaran LRT 1 station) was years back when we supposedly were to have a gig somewhere around Baclaran, got lost, and didn't end up playing the gig anyway. Unfortunately, things haven't changed a bit. Even worse, the underside of the railway has more leaks than a sinking ship, and I was walking on the road due to a non-existent pedestrian walkway that has been taken over by hawkers.
From there, I proceeded on to United Nations Avenue to surprise my girlfriend and didn't disappoint her. :)
However you say it or package it, malls are boring places to go to. Period. This was the day that I got my LRT/MRT Flash Pass, which gives me UNLIMITED train rides for one week for only Php250 at Shaw Boulevard MRT station. Not bad for someone like me who goes to different places unexpectedly.
For quite some time now, I've passed by Magallanes on the MRT and noticed the Alphaland Southgate Mall. I was quite curious about what was in there and how it differed from other malls out there. So, I decided to make a stop there. And boy, was I disappointed. It is just like Greenhills in a smaller package and in a different place. How useless to stop by.
For a moment there, I forgot my personal mantra: MALLS ARE BORING, MALLS ARE USELESS UNLESS I NEED TO BUY STUFF. Well, so much for that.
Next stop was Taft Avenue. For a change, I thought of walking from the Taft MRT station to Baclaran LRT 1 station (yes, those two stations are actually near). The last time I was there (around the Baclaran LRT 1 station) was years back when we supposedly were to have a gig somewhere around Baclaran, got lost, and didn't end up playing the gig anyway. Unfortunately, things haven't changed a bit. Even worse, the underside of the railway has more leaks than a sinking ship, and I was walking on the road due to a non-existent pedestrian walkway that has been taken over by hawkers.
From there, I proceeded on to United Nations Avenue to surprise my girlfriend and didn't disappoint her. :)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
2: Silence is unsettling in a populated city
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
After a day being a unpaid employee at a local governing body of a sport, I head on out to Binondo for a long overdue snack that I have been craving for months. Turns out, it wasn't as good as I envisioned it to be. I got disappointed after having a bowl of my favorite Beef Knife Shred Noodles, but it's okay.
When I was having a walk towards the bus stop at Quiapo, I can't help but notice this trend that I've encountered from the last time I took this route. Simply put, it's creepy to walk around the streets of a place where it is very much crowded and noisy by day.
Cases in point: (1) Raon in Manila, (2) Hidalgo, (3) Makati Central Business District [CBD], and (4) Quiapo. Visit these places by day, then stick around until around 10 in the evening to know what I mean.
The idea of a noisy marketplace at night, devoid of the screaming vendors, is just unsettling. Moreover, what kind of denizens would be settling around these places when the sun goes down?
After a day being a unpaid employee at a local governing body of a sport, I head on out to Binondo for a long overdue snack that I have been craving for months. Turns out, it wasn't as good as I envisioned it to be. I got disappointed after having a bowl of my favorite Beef Knife Shred Noodles, but it's okay.
When I was having a walk towards the bus stop at Quiapo, I can't help but notice this trend that I've encountered from the last time I took this route. Simply put, it's creepy to walk around the streets of a place where it is very much crowded and noisy by day.
Cases in point: (1) Raon in Manila, (2) Hidalgo, (3) Makati Central Business District [CBD], and (4) Quiapo. Visit these places by day, then stick around until around 10 in the evening to know what I mean.
The idea of a noisy marketplace at night, devoid of the screaming vendors, is just unsettling. Moreover, what kind of denizens would be settling around these places when the sun goes down?
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
1: You can never go home again.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
This day, I called in sick for my OJT and I just watched UAAP basketball on TV that afternoon. After the games were over, I had to go over to Cherry Foodarama somewhere along Shaw Blvd. to pick up a pair of shoes I had sent in for repairs.
To get there, I had to pass by my old neigborhood (Bgy. Addition Hills) which was a good 5-10 min. walk away from our house.
And there I was.
The street was almost like how it was when I left it a decade ago, however a bit decayed from years of heat and rain and cars passing by. The neigborhood almost looks the same as I left it.
It was around early evening when I reached it, and I saw a familiar face inside a familiar sari-sari store. It was my old friend named Mac-mac. Having a small chit-chat with him revealed that he's been working for quite a while now in a cruise ship that sails along Spain, but is now unemployed. Also, he told me that most of our gang now have kids of their own.
A lot of things have changed after a decade since we moved out of our old apartment, but sometimes the faces don't.
I never got back home again, I went back to a place that is no longer familiar.
PS: Oh yeah, I ended up in Cherry by around a quarter past 7 to find out that the shoe shop was already closed.
This day, I called in sick for my OJT and I just watched UAAP basketball on TV that afternoon. After the games were over, I had to go over to Cherry Foodarama somewhere along Shaw Blvd. to pick up a pair of shoes I had sent in for repairs.
To get there, I had to pass by my old neigborhood (Bgy. Addition Hills) which was a good 5-10 min. walk away from our house.
And there I was.
The street was almost like how it was when I left it a decade ago, however a bit decayed from years of heat and rain and cars passing by. The neigborhood almost looks the same as I left it.
It was around early evening when I reached it, and I saw a familiar face inside a familiar sari-sari store. It was my old friend named Mac-mac. Having a small chit-chat with him revealed that he's been working for quite a while now in a cruise ship that sails along Spain, but is now unemployed. Also, he told me that most of our gang now have kids of their own.
A lot of things have changed after a decade since we moved out of our old apartment, but sometimes the faces don't.
I never got back home again, I went back to a place that is no longer familiar.
PS: Oh yeah, I ended up in Cherry by around a quarter past 7 to find out that the shoe shop was already closed.
Friday, June 19, 2009
06.14.09: introduction
this is a walk around town. this is a blog that i would update whenever i walk around the streets of metropolitan manila in the philippine islands for the hell of it. the stories that i would be posting here are accounts in which a photograph will never come close to giving the trip justice.
though most of the trips i make will be only with bare essentials (footwear, clothing, spare change as bailout money), there will be times that there are accompanying photographs that would give a view of what was the trip.
and now, the journey begins...
-diego
though most of the trips i make will be only with bare essentials (footwear, clothing, spare change as bailout money), there will be times that there are accompanying photographs that would give a view of what was the trip.
and now, the journey begins...
-diego
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