Buntings

RIGHT after emailing my “Compete to Complete?” column to our editors, I checked out Facebook where I saw Ravenwolf’s post about Completeness. Coincidence?

Life is like that sometimes—full of coincidences. Like that time when I was in Bohol and needed a book to read, and there was a Booksale branch at a mall in Tagbilaran. And Puerto Princesa had a Booksale branch, too, when we were there. But could these be classified as coincidences? Or desperation? Desperate for something to read. Haha.

I seldom bring books when I travel since they can always be bought at the airport or at the place we’re visiting, anyway. And books can be heavy—additional luggage weight, which I don’t need considering the way I pack. My hard habit to break is to bring everything, including the piano. Besides, if the vacay has a hectic schedule, who has the time to read? Except for Cebu where there’s usually some downtime while staying at Dad’s ancestral home in Carcar.

Since August will have two long weekends—August 19 to 21, and 26 to 28, it’s time to have that much-deserved vacation again.

August 21 is Ninoy Aquino Day, the 28th is National Heroes Day, and also Cagayan de Oro’s fiesta.

If you’re a Cagayanon and you want to “miss” the fiesta, this is your chance. But since CDO is known for its yummy lechon, perhaps you’d rather start giving hints to CDO friends to invite you to their fiesta celebration already. Wink wink. Or should that be, Oink oink? Lechon pa more.

My first-ever column was published in August 2003. My first ever topic: the CDO fiesta. For a while there, I had no idea what the topic would be. Until I saw veteran journalist Butch Enerio on TV, he was then attending the CDO fiesta press conference. So, I texted him: Papalo, I don’t have a topic for the column. He replied, Write about the fiesta. Me: What do I know about the fiesta?

And then one day, isang araw, I was at Velez Street and noticed it was gloomy. I looked up and there was the answer: buntings. Lots and lots of buntings. And that became the first line of the column which appeared days later on a local daily’s front page with my byline, Cindy Rand. That was a daily column. Unlike my MWF sked now.

Yes, daily. I was 20 years younger then, my minute brain only needed a little prompting to make it work.

Writing has always been my outlet. I used to send handwritten letters to family and friends. Snail mail was then the more practical way to communicate. The columnizing somehow evolved from there.

Friends are now sending photos of those letters to me, and that’s how I’m reminded of my younger thoughts. Did I reveal much through those letters? I don’t know. Hehe. I do wonder if my friends could read between the lines then.

I guess there were days when I wrote letters while nursing a hangover—those letters probably sounded drunk. But definitely not if they were for my mother.