Rollercoaster Ride

I can’t say enough good things about being single and living in New York. Where beautiful men and women in their late 20s and 30s are not at all pressured to be with anyone or worse, settle down. (That’s why they call it ’settle’. down.) Where Valentine’s Days are more popularly spent doing laundry, working or  simply going home to watch "Lost." Where people rarely pine for someone because they are the prize. Where travels by oneself or with friends are far more often planned and enjoyed.  Where people know they’ll get there someday, but don’t want that someday to be now. This is the only city in the world, where the married ones truly envy the lives and lifestyles of the single ones, rather than the other way around.

Sana nga kung love is blind. Pero hindi eh. Alam nyo kung bakit?

Nung nalaman ko na bulag pala ang dad ni Angel, isa sa mga naisip ko is sayang na hindi nya makikita ang mga guwapong boyfriend ng anak niya. Immediately after, naisip ko na ok lang yun kasi ang dapat ngang mag-matter is kung mabait yung guy sa kanya. And in this case, yun nga ang magiging basehan for the father — if the guy treats her well. Very well.

Tapos naisip ko yung mga taong hindi natin gusto, ergo hindi natin mahal, pero gusto o mahal tayo. Minsan puwedeng maging simple lang ang sagot natin: ‘hindi natin type.’ Ang lungkot ‘no? Pero kung lahat tayo bulag, eh di wala nang problema. Mas madaling makahanap ng match kasi hindi hadlang ang hitsura: ang tangkad o liit, ang payat o taba, ang itim o puti.

Eh kaso nga love is not blind. Kaya ginugusto pa rin natin yung someone we are physically attracted to, based on what our eyes can see.

Nagugulat ako pag merong bibisita sa akin, or mag-iiwan ng voice mail or e-mail, na para bang blast from the past: yung mga taong hindi mo na naisip ng 12 or 15 years, halos makalimutan mo na nga, tapos maririnig mo ang boses o makikita mong nagpapakilala ulit. Tapos either maalala mo sila, o hindi. Lalo na kung ang mundo mo’y puno ng bagong tao - mga taong hindi mo nakilala before 2003 pero mga pinakamalalapit mong kaibigan ngayon, na mas kilala ka na nila more than anyone else.  Tapos makikita mo na either nothing has changed, or so much has changed. Tapos you may get some time to catch up on the past 15 years, and you won’t know where to start -and stop. 

Pero ang mas nakakagulat ay yung pag nakakaita ako ng mga photos ng mga dati kong kakilala taken just a block away from my office in New York, whether it’s at Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Grand Central, or just on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street. Hello! Mag-hello naman kayo. So close and yet so far… Ang lapit lang sa classic NY tourist spots, puwede pang maglunch dun or mag-happy hour. I’ll take you to my favorite bars or we can go to Bryant Park. As you know, everyone’s wlecome naman in my office. Lalo na ‘pag PIlipino ka