I have been generally a happy person most of my life. But in the past year and a half, a more sober, a more serious, a more pensive me has been emerging. Getting huge doses of reality, my life is far from perfect. I am facing many trying circumstances, but there is still much to smile about. But what I really long for is laughter. Laughing so hard, you burst into tears. You get so lost in the moment and giggles turn into an infectious laugh that lasts into minutes. You forget why you were laughing in the first place, but you still can’t stop laughing.
Last Saturday, a group of friends went on an impromptu trip to Chinatown. It all started with a friend, Rodney, forwarding an email on an importer having a sale of the overstock of Samsonite suitcases, Jansport knapsacks, laptop bags, etc. It is hard to drive to Chinatown and find parking. And since most of us were women, negotiating these narrow and crowded streets would be an ordeal. Using my doughy eyes and in my sweetest voice I asked if Rodney could pick us up on his way to work. After some negotiation, he agreed. Right before midnight, we sorted it all out. Two friends would leave their cars in Rodney’s house. And another friend would drive to my house and Rodney would pick all of us up, just like a school bus. At past midnight, I invited Kathy, a friend I was supposed to have breakfast with that Saturday morning to join us. She delighted at the word “Sale!,” and gladly drove to my house to join the gang.
It was past nine in the morning when all of us converged in my house. As every one boarded the van, all six of us were in the best and brightest spirits. We were all teasing each other, in carefree moods, and there was definitely an abundance of laughter. We were laughing so hard, we were crying. We were expending so much energy, shaking, giggling in uncontrollable happiness that we realized we were tired when we stopped laughing.
We eventually made it to the luggage sale. We only bought three items. Abby and Kathy were the most practical ones in the group. They were the wise ones I would turn to in my indecision, whether to buy a black Samsonite duffel bag I had grown attached to the minute I saw it. Maella was in a frantic buying mode, almost purchasing items she did not even need or shoes that didn’t even fit properly, only priced nicely. Nilda got a little backpack.
After shopping, we then had a most delicious lunch in a small hole in the wall Chinese resto tucked behind the fruit stands. It did not have flashy interiors. Only white tiles. And service was crude and orders were imperfect. Most notable was the Salt and Pepper squid that was more of a sweet spicy squid. But it didn’t matter we were all happy. This moment reminded me that the dining experience is not just about the food, or the ambiance. In this case, it was definitely about the company.
After lunch, we walked in and out of the little stores buying cans of bamboo shoots, loa (my dad calls it tae ng pusa), and hopia. We spent a long time buying office supplies from Rodney’s Stationary store. We disturbed his staff for about an hour, choosing different colors or different styles of notebooks and CD cases. It occurred to me. Rodney supplies to bookstores around the Philippines. What he earned from our purchase in that hour, he probably earns more in a minute of the bulk purchases his staff usually attends to.
When the heat and humidity hit us, we refreshed ourselves with ice-cold black gulaman, ice coffee jelly, and a fresh coconut in The Volunteer Fireman’s Coffee Shop. With the waiters and waitresses as willing accomplices, we could not help but document this special moment. The firemens’ hats were on display. And each one wore a hat, posed in a wacky pose to capture this moment. Of course we burst into uncontrollable laughter again.
I’m glad I had my camera to document those special moments. Every time I look at those photos, it is best summed up by the one word, “PRICELESS!”
June19’07.6:45pm
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