Flowers, Hearts, Diamonds and Spades
Memorare
She remembers.
She remembers the last Valentine’s Day she had with someone ‘special’ in her life.
She remembers how he called early that morning and sheepishly read to her a cheesy poem that she thinks was meant to be romantic but instead just made her snicker. She remembers the gifts he sent through a friend at school that day: the box of chocolates, another poem - this one she liked so much that it became her favorite - and of course, the flowers.
She remembers the flowers. A dozen red roses. She remembers how beautiful they were, even though they were yet in full bloom. How pleasant their soft fragrance was. How soft the petals felt against the tips of her fingers.
Most of all, she remembers how sad the roses looked as she left them on top of the pile in that blue container labeled ‘Nabubulok/Biodegradable’ before she got into her father’s car. Like how she remembers throwing away the ring he slid on her finger merely a month after.
She remembers. Because she hasn’t forgotten.
“…And I love you because I know no other way than this: where I do not exist, nor you; so close that your hand on my chest is your hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep…”
Sonnet XVII, Pablo Neruda
***
PUSOy
My life as an AguPip has been running for almost two years now, and those two years can’t be any more different as Justin Dungca and Ruby Mamangun. (Haha! Hanggang sa Aslag iniintriga e!) I admit being perhaps too serious during my first year here in UP – I was too GC and cared about nothing more than my course shifting. On my second year, though, having achieved my objective of becoming an Econ major, I decided to give myself a break. That’s when my real life began. I started taking my studies less seriously, hanging out with my friends more, exploring the different establishments around me and learning the things I didn’t have time to learn before. One of them was pusoy dos.
Pusoy had always been a popular game at the tambayan. Unfortunately for me, none of the people I grew up with were card game fans so I hardly knew any card games. The mems tried to teach me how to play pusoy, but I couldn’t learn it. Or maybe I really didn’t want to learn it then. Nonetheless, when my four and a half hour WF breaks came, I decided that I would die of ennui if I didn’t find something to spend my time on, so I finally gave pusoy a shot. Lame as it is, the rest, as they say, is history.
I’ve learned a lot of things through that simple card game – how you should never be too cocky because even with four dos’s you could lose (in Ate Acey’s words, “Mamakbung la.”), how hierarchy is needed to have an organized world, how you can cheat but should make sure that you never get caught (As Kuya Kevin said, “Pwede ba Nic kung mandadaya ka yung swabe naman.”) and a lot more.
However, the most important thing I’ve learned through pusoy is that life is all about dealing with the cards you’re given. Sometimes you get a good hand and sometimes you don’t. And while there’s seldom anything you can do to change the cards you received, you can always turn the game around with the moves you make.
***
Feb 14
I remember my first Valentine’s Day in UP. That morning I had to suck it up because I totally forgot that we were going to have an exam in Geog. At noon Kuya Kevin asked me if I wanted to study in the lib and I nodded, not knowing that the study-period-in-a-nice-and-quiet-place I expected would turn into almost three grueling hours of watching Kevin Patrick Estrabillo Penalba, in his full I-am-out-to-find-my-moon glory, snore the afternoon out, wondering if I should wake him up or let the army of irate people around him do the job. Finally that evening my friends and I got into a huge fight over the fact that I wouldn’t go to the UP Fair with them because I had to study.
This year Hearts’ Day falls on a Saturday which I suppose is good; except for the fact that despite what the Agu numbers and members say, I don’t have a chever, mystery or otherwise, and I have an exam on the fifteenth so I’ll probably spend the fourteenth studying and won’t be able to go out with friends. I guess it’s another loser Valentines’ for me.
Still, I’m thankful. Screw the date, the only thing that matters is that I have my ever loving family, my amazing friends and my wonderful AguFamily beside me. It doesn’t need to be Feb 14 for me to show them how much I love them and for them to show me how much they love me. We do it everyday. ^_^
***
Danke
World, I want you to know how much I thank all those people who were instrumental in my learning of the wonderful game pusoy dos: my Tutor #1 Lawi, Tutor #2 Bryan and Tutor #3 (the best of them all!) Kuya Gboi. Thanks too, to those who lent hands, namely Ate Acey, Ate Ferge, Kuya Rex, Mike, Trish and Ham. ^_^
She remembers the last Valentine’s Day she had with someone ‘special’ in her life.
She remembers how he called early that morning and sheepishly read to her a cheesy poem that she thinks was meant to be romantic but instead just made her snicker. She remembers the gifts he sent through a friend at school that day: the box of chocolates, another poem - this one she liked so much that it became her favorite - and of course, the flowers. She remembers the flowers. A dozen red roses. She remembers how beautiful they were, even though they were yet in full bloom. How pleasant their soft fragrance was. How soft the petals felt against the tips of her fingers.
Most of all, she remembers how sad the roses looked as she left them on top of the pile in that blue container labeled ‘Nabubulok/Biodegradable’ before she got into her father’s car. Like how she remembers throwing away the ring he slid on her finger merely a month after.
She remembers. Because she hasn’t forgotten.
“…And I love you because I know no other way than this: where I do not exist, nor you; so close that your hand on my chest is your hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep…”
Sonnet XVII, Pablo Neruda
***
PUSOy
My life as an AguPip has been running for almost two years now, and those two years can’t be any more different as Justin Dungca and Ruby Mamangun. (Haha! Hanggang sa Aslag iniintriga e!) I admit being perhaps too serious during my first year here in UP – I was too GC and cared about nothing more than my course shifting. On my second year, though, having achieved my objective of becoming an Econ major, I decided to give myself a break. That’s when my real life began. I started taking my studies less seriously, hanging out with my friends more, exploring the different establishments around me and learning the things I didn’t have time to learn before. One of them was pusoy dos.
Pusoy had always been a popular game at the tambayan. Unfortunately for me, none of the people I grew up with were card game fans so I hardly knew any card games. The mems tried to teach me how to play pusoy, but I couldn’t learn it. Or maybe I really didn’t want to learn it then. Nonetheless, when my four and a half hour WF breaks came, I decided that I would die of ennui if I didn’t find something to spend my time on, so I finally gave pusoy a shot. Lame as it is, the rest, as they say, is history.
I’ve learned a lot of things through that simple card game – how you should never be too cocky because even with four dos’s you could lose (in Ate Acey’s words, “Mamakbung la.”), how hierarchy is needed to have an organized world, how you can cheat but should make sure that you never get caught (As Kuya Kevin said, “Pwede ba Nic kung mandadaya ka yung swabe naman.”) and a lot more.
However, the most important thing I’ve learned through pusoy is that life is all about dealing with the cards you’re given. Sometimes you get a good hand and sometimes you don’t. And while there’s seldom anything you can do to change the cards you received, you can always turn the game around with the moves you make.
***
Feb 14
I remember my first Valentine’s Day in UP. That morning I had to suck it up because I totally forgot that we were going to have an exam in Geog. At noon Kuya Kevin asked me if I wanted to study in the lib and I nodded, not knowing that the study-period-in-a-nice-and-quiet-place I expected would turn into almost three grueling hours of watching Kevin Patrick Estrabillo Penalba, in his full I-am-out-to-find-my-moon glory, snore the afternoon out, wondering if I should wake him up or let the army of irate people around him do the job. Finally that evening my friends and I got into a huge fight over the fact that I wouldn’t go to the UP Fair with them because I had to study.
This year Hearts’ Day falls on a Saturday which I suppose is good; except for the fact that despite what the Agu numbers and members say, I don’t have a chever, mystery or otherwise, and I have an exam on the fifteenth so I’ll probably spend the fourteenth studying and won’t be able to go out with friends. I guess it’s another loser Valentines’ for me.
Still, I’m thankful. Screw the date, the only thing that matters is that I have my ever loving family, my amazing friends and my wonderful AguFamily beside me. It doesn’t need to be Feb 14 for me to show them how much I love them and for them to show me how much they love me. We do it everyday. ^_^
***
Danke
World, I want you to know how much I thank all those people who were instrumental in my learning of the wonderful game pusoy dos: my Tutor #1 Lawi, Tutor #2 Bryan and Tutor #3 (the best of them all!) Kuya Gboi. Thanks too, to those who lent hands, namely Ate Acey, Ate Ferge, Kuya Rex, Mike, Trish and Ham. ^_^
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