FOR a while there, I was always ordering salmon in Cagayan de Oro’s restos. That’s after my “obsession” with their rib eyes. Have had enough of beef by then, so, I switched to fish, until I was examining my skin for scales.
And it’s while savoring each bite of that salmon that I saw two married guys touching each other’s thighs. They were then seated at a resto’s table with their wives who couldn’t see the momentous event that was happening under that table. Or perhaps they were not married couples but were merely in a situationship. I don’t know. I didn’t ask. Haha.
The younger couple brought their baby and nannies with them, so, their group was busy, and made it possible for the thigh-touching to be unnoticed. Except by me. And I couldn’t unsee it anymore. Each time one of the guys touched the other’s thigh, I wanted to tell them, Get a room already.
There was this other episode of a guy squeezing another guy’s thigh for several seconds, or it could have been minutes. I simply stared at that hand squeezing that thigh.
Same-sex marriage is now legal in other countries. But in Pinas, I gotta feeling that’s not happening forevermore.
Pinas is an ultra-conservative country when it comes to relationships. In theory. But not in practice.
But it’s not ultra-conservative with graft and corruption which has become the norm here, to the extent that the Pinoy is shocked when the usual suspects don’t ask for bribes.
Gapa-cute lang si Pinas. As if.
Besties Taylor Swift and Selene Gomez having selfies together is cute. Jollibee is cute. A piggy collection is cute.
Cute has to be defined because making pa-cute will only make Pinas’ problems morph into acute.
And there’s the clueless asking, Whaaat? Pinas has problems?
Okay, let’s call them challenges. How to reduce the prices of rice and gasoline, how to catch the grafting and corrupting politicians, how to temper road rage, “Haw-haw de karabaw, batutin.”
And here’s one more: how to stop malls, stores, restos, and cafes from playing Christmas songs. Which I had enough of while dining at a resto in uptown Cagayan de Oro: “White Christmas,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” “Jingle Bells,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” etc. The more Christmasy the song, the more I ate. Aha! That must be the resto’s sales strategy. I ordered two dishes—salmon again, and pork—and was still eating even after feeling satiated.
Christmas is even in the air now—the weather is cooler, no need for electric fans and air conditioners before noon.
Christmas is the season where everyone is pressured to have a perfect life, and a perfect, happy, and prosperous family that no one can keep up with. It’s almost like there are standard operating procedures for the noche buena and media noche.
If prayers were the only SOP for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, then the Christmas season will be a time to reflect on the year that has been, where you are now, and where you’re going.
