Ambivalent

Hugz

As I stopped on a traffic light near LunetaPark along Roxas Blvd this afternoon, I saw a strange sight that somehow made my day.  A couple of guys in white shirts were standing in front of the Luneta monument raising placards above their heads.  The placards, from what I can see say HUGS– the rest of the words I can no longer decipher.  It must have said HUGS For Free because I saw a couple of ladies approach one of the guys and proceeded to hug him right in front of everyone, and the guy was hugging them back.  It’s a refreshing sight given that Filipinos have an inherent distaste for the touchy-feely stuff unless the persons involved are, well, involved.  Had these been the olden times, I think that act (the hugging thing) would be grounds for marriage.  But these are more enlightened times and hugs, kisses, and holding hands have somehow lost their luster.  Our ancestors must be turning in their graves.

Kisses

Ok, I did not see anyone kissing today.  Today! Valentine’s Day! And I saw no couple kissing.  And more than that, we’ve b een (my little sister, my tita, and myself)  walking round Bonifacio High Street and I could not find a familiar face.  I was hoping to catch a few friends who’re out on a date and needle them no end.  I was disappointed.  There were all those people and not one of them I have ever met in my entire life.  And these are people also that I feel I will no longer see again for as long as I live.  I told my sister that had I known that there’s no one there to identify me, I would have brought an illegitimate date along.

Slurps

For all those talk about how small the world is getting, I felt like a stranger in a familiar city.  The buildings, the establishments, and those who man them look familiar, but the wave of humanity that populates these things, who fight for the attention of the attendants, all of them might as well be slurpees at 7-11.  They all look green, or pink, or yellow.  They could all be faceless and still they won’t make a difference to me.