ON the day of Cagayan de Oro’s fiesta, I went to the gym where, while working out, I and some gym friends waited for a Cagayanon to invite us to the fiesta. Haha. But no one called us, so, each of us went home and had lunch at our respective cribs. Ho-hum.

The fiesta could be the worst time to travel around CDO, anyway, so it was absolutely fine to stay home and chill.

I did avoid going downtown on the week of the fiesta despite the two interesting movies showing then—“The Roses” and “Eden”—which I did watch on the Monday after the fiesta week.

Mondays must be the busiest day at the movies in Pinas. That’s when seniors can watch movies for free, a perk that I’ve not availed of yet.

There was that time years ago when I watched a movie on a Monday, and when I entered the cinema’s restroom, I found myself among mature women who were all looking at me like, Who is she? Do we know her? And after staring at me for several minutes, they decided, Nah, she doesn’t belong.

I had no idea then why there were many people watching movies on a Monday. I thought cinemas would be full only on weekends. It was only much later that I realized why when someone told me about the free perks for seniors. Apparently, these seniors have become friends, so, when they see an unfamiliar face at the cinemas on a Monday, they’d wonder, Who you?

Another time I was about to pay for a box of donuts when the cashier asked me for an ID. My thought bubble went, I need an ID to buy donuts? Seeing the cluelessness on my face, the cashier repeated what she said, this time with an additional detail: Senior ID, Ma’am. My reply: Di pa ko senior. Haha!

And there was that day when I entered another restroom, the kind that requires a fee, and the receptionist gladly let me in without asking for my P20. While inside the restroom, I wondered why it’s now free for me: I’m one of the mall’s suki shoppers now? I’ve spent enough money here, I now deserve free access to its lounge?

The Realization 101 arrived much later when I was already a senior and the receptionist gladly let me in again. Oh, she thought I was already a senior years ago, that’s why I was able to use the restroom for free then.

There’s this male gym classmate who told me that when I’m not facing him, I look like I’m in my 20s. But once I’m facing him, he’s guessing I’m in my early 50s. And I said this loudly to his face: Walay bawiay, Sir!

Hahay, these guys. Perhaps they now believe they’re God’s gift to women just because they have muscles.

God’s gift to women is our ability to tell how a real flood control project should look like. Wait, what?