what makes manila so endearing is that i know i was born here.
arrived last saturday to catch fete de la musique, and here i am pounding in one of the overly-expensive internet cafes at the megamall, while waiting for time to tick by before dinner with the family.
it is a placid feeling, as far as i am concerned. i exactly don't feel that i don't belong, though there is a mild trace of queerness towards this great place. somehow, i know manila (the term manila referring to metro manila) and it knows me o so well.
i was walking from our office towards megamall earlier and there was this lady with the shortest mini-skirt i have seen (well, probably in the last six months). i kinda tilted my head and wondered why this sort of fashion is virtually non-existent from where i live in davao. kinda made me smile too, for i have never really thought about it's absence in the daily scenery, had i not seen it (again) first hand.
and, i have been going out as well every night: timog, ortigas, cubao, you name it. i have been around, and i pride myself as knowing where to go. at the very least, i am still in touch with my gimik instinct. i know where the beer is, where the music plays loud.
in short, manila has a certain allure, because it is a playful place. it has all the lights, the sights and the good food, music, and nice looking ladies. the last one being one of the most important :) but that is not to say, that everything that makes up the allure and the playfulness of manila is the one that would make me stay here.
right now i realize, that probably the only thing that would make me go back is family. either the family that i woke up to, or a family of my own... but i don't see it happening soon or with permanence either.
probably, manila knows that thing about me as well. of course we always enjoy our time together, especially now that it has become so few in the past couple of years. but we know that we would only be as casual as clothes. and for all intents and purposes, it would never come close to the feeling of living back in davao.
with that, i know that i would always be welcome "home."
arrived last saturday to catch fete de la musique, and here i am pounding in one of the overly-expensive internet cafes at the megamall, while waiting for time to tick by before dinner with the family.
it is a placid feeling, as far as i am concerned. i exactly don't feel that i don't belong, though there is a mild trace of queerness towards this great place. somehow, i know manila (the term manila referring to metro manila) and it knows me o so well.
i was walking from our office towards megamall earlier and there was this lady with the shortest mini-skirt i have seen (well, probably in the last six months). i kinda tilted my head and wondered why this sort of fashion is virtually non-existent from where i live in davao. kinda made me smile too, for i have never really thought about it's absence in the daily scenery, had i not seen it (again) first hand.
and, i have been going out as well every night: timog, ortigas, cubao, you name it. i have been around, and i pride myself as knowing where to go. at the very least, i am still in touch with my gimik instinct. i know where the beer is, where the music plays loud.
in short, manila has a certain allure, because it is a playful place. it has all the lights, the sights and the good food, music, and nice looking ladies. the last one being one of the most important :) but that is not to say, that everything that makes up the allure and the playfulness of manila is the one that would make me stay here.
right now i realize, that probably the only thing that would make me go back is family. either the family that i woke up to, or a family of my own... but i don't see it happening soon or with permanence either.
probably, manila knows that thing about me as well. of course we always enjoy our time together, especially now that it has become so few in the past couple of years. but we know that we would only be as casual as clothes. and for all intents and purposes, it would never come close to the feeling of living back in davao.
with that, i know that i would always be welcome "home."
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