Doing it My Way at Independence Day (Part 2)

After my wasted minutes at Quirino Grandstand, I walked along Roxas Boulevard just for experiences’ sake. I got by the Children’s Museum, the United States Embassy, and passed by a restaurant called Emerald Garden whose store display you’d mistake for a pet shop because of the animate creatures wringling by the window still. Somethimes I think displaying them to be ogled at by children patrons is very unthoughtful to the tilapias and hipons as they go swimming from the aquarium to being served with a mouthful of garnish in your plates, like publicly executed prisoners in Luneta. The universe can be so harsh.

I continued walking mindlessly along the boulevard until I passed by a street vendor who sells beef mami along Padre Faura. An interesting inclusion in their menu is a dish called Mami-rice. It’s basically mami, mixed/mashed with boiled rice. Ingenious, but wouldn’t seem to suit my palate. The tricycle driver beside me seemed to enjoy it. Who am I to break their trip? (Basagin ang trip)

Someone recently told me that the places who serve mami/lugaw are the ones who are flocked by the revering public. The shop being crowded as it was, I decided to help myself with a bowl of beef mami for 20 pesos. It didn’t disappoint at all with its smoky flavor and salty broth topped with a generous helping of beef innards and chunks of meat. The store vendor from the other store where I stood while feasting on the cheap delight even asked me “Masarap ba talaga?” as she saw beads of sweat forming on my forehead. She then offered me a bottle of Coke.

After I had my accidental breakfast, I walked en route to the bay view of Manila Bay. I can’t stand the fishy stench so I just took a quick view of the rising sun and the docking ships. I also saw men armed with their fishing rods, seemingly expecting for a catch although all I saw near the bayside were garbage.

At around 9am, I decided to go to Mall of Asia. I hailed an FX, as it stopped in front of me, I asked if it would pass MOA. One of the passengers, a guy wearing a pair of slacks and long sleeves told me that it would so I sat in the front beside him. Thus came his nonstop stories on his life as an insurance company employee, a biology student, and his daily trips to Pasay. He was a natural Scheherazade!

As we neared my destination he began asking personal questions like where do I study, what year I am currently in, what my course is. Being a polite fellow, I tried to answer with some occasional grins and nods until his talkativity level finally reached my threshold. By threshold I mean that I only have that limited energy for talking and once it drains up, my mouth shuts like a clam. You cannot elicit a decent response by then.

Doing it My Way at Independence Day (Part 1)

Last night I googled the schedule of events for the celebration of the 113^th Philippine proclamation of Independence, as per the schedule, PNoy will be giving a speech at 6:30 at Quirino Grandstand.

The following morning, I found myself still taking a bath at 6:30 so I half expected that I would run in the middle of his speech. At 7:00am, I was at Tayuman station, the fare was free for the morning probably due to the Independence day festivities.  I rode the train and alighted on Quirino station, walked along  the streets of Ermita until I got myself skirmishing against people traffic somewhere near the Grandstand where a job fair sponsored by the Department of Labor and Employment was taking place. So I had to trudge through the massive block of people until I reached the Quirino grandstand, but to my dismay, the speech had already ended when I arrived and all I saw were the colors retreating before Rizal’s monument and the Mayor Lim, who seemed to dye his hair white, passing by me. A battalion, clad in yellow shirts bearing the bold letters MMDA are surely no-miss. Government officials and employees in their very respectable traditional wear (I just don’t know if they are as respectable as their costumes in the workplace.) who looked like ninong and ninangs about to attend a wedding, paraded against my direction. 

By that time, I was half convinced that I wasted my time so I just bought a glass of taho and a Philippine flag which I kept hanging from my messenger bag throughout the day. I am quite indifferent on the market made from “selling” the Philippine flag. I think things like this must be must venerated upon and treated with due respect. While I was finishing my taho with every sip coinciding with the beat of the bugle played by the marching band, I was handed by a lady in her mid-thirties a flyer on the prophesies of the Bible, proofs that the end time is near, and that people’s sins – clearly, she one of those conspiracy driven people that aim to cause commotion to the happy few. After the last note of the bugle, a set of white and pink balloons were released to the sky resembling sperm cells with a string attached to their ends waving like little flagella propelling themselves into the sky.

As I searched the net yesterday, I find that there are only few sources online regarding the Independence day. I suggest the government should have its own advertising strategy to make the Filipinos realize how important this event is and how many people in the past sacrifice for the freedom that we enjoy today. 

(to be continued)