Wala Lang

This week, I encountered a guy I had a bit of a crush on when I was a gawky teenager. The way we "bumped" into each other was quite strange. (Another proof how the world is getting so small — see previous post) Anyway, for the last two days, I felt like that high-school girl all over again, giddy and giggling. I’ve never felt like this since River Phoenix was still alive and when the New Kids on the Block were still together! Or when Smokey Mountain was still singing Da Coconut Nut! He he he.

Apparently, like me, he’s based in another country now. We exchanged numbers and I promised that next month, when I fly to where he lives, I’d give him a call so that we can meet up.

The last time I saw this person was perhaps almost 20 years ago. I realise now that he never even knew I existed until a couple of days ago!  I wasn’t one of the "cool" girls in my high school. I was the geek, the nerd, and the ugly duckling. In a way, he was also a geek, but he carried his geekiness with a certain flair that made him quite attractive to the girls. So, he was popular and I was not.

I am now curious how he has turned out. I will for sure call him when I fly to where he lives next month. Let’s see what will happen then.

The world is indeed shrinking. Years ago, anywhere outside the Philippines was already far for me. Preparing for a trip to even just a Southeast Asian country already merited weeks of planning, careful packing, and so many last-minute things to do. These days, however, everything seems so near.

Just a couple of days ago, I got a message from a friend saying that he’s moving to Vietnam, so he’ll be quite close now. I agreed with him and said yes, we can drop in on each other easily with me just practically next door.

Today, another friend of mine and I had a discussion on whether she should think about developing a relationship with this guy who is based in Singapore. We both agreed that since the guy lives "quite close", why not?

Every month, I try to go home and see my family and spend time with them. I fly home to Cebu and just hang out.

Years ago, I would never even think that Vietnam and Singapore are "close" to Thailand. I would never even have thought of shuttling from Bangkok to Cebu every month just to hang out with my family. These days though, it seems to be just a fact of life and something that I’ve come to accept as part of my monthly routine.

The world is indeed shrinking. For now, I am happy that it is shrinking, at least from my point of view.