The Poetics of an Odd (wo) Man out

for x number of weeks or even months, i didn't play futsal. The regular tuesday and friday rendezvous was put on hold for some reason. Then one email changed all that.. (parang suspense naman ang dating...) It was Jay and JC who volunteered Jerz, Blue and I to organize the game. Of course we were surprised by this and also excited. It was then, we realized how much we miss playing this game and the futsal people. Then after recruitments here and there, sir leo's blasted futsal ad email, and some pangugulit, we were on our way to our first game again since time memorial. While we were playing, running and sweating, I'd realized how much i miss doing this. It was nice to kick some balls, to feel the adrenaline rush, to be out of breath, and to see old friends again.. There's some comfort and a feeling of belongingness in that court While we were playing, it's so natural and comfortable despite the fact that we haven't seen each other for some time. It's as though we didn't really have a long break from futsal... jc was his usual pang-aasar mode... then there's Jay who scares us.. just to steal the ball, road runner, the ever fast and good player, pao who plays like a pro, Jerz whose kicking skills and good defense earns her the title,"great wall" Blue who shot the first goal and earned the title as per JC, praktisado, Jong who wishes for cigarette while playing the game, Ryan “manok” who now uses long socks but still plays great.. lance and that other guy, whom I called shorts for some reason, whose tagged team prowess made them unstoppable..

Of course, there are new faces… harry and his friends, who plays well despite his warning that he is a newbie…. Mandy who carries the ball well, Sir Maenard “leo martinez” who plays futsal barefoot but still manages to steal the ball and shoots goals..

It’s a good thing that futsal is back for good. It gives me an outlet to release the stress especially after a long and tiring day at the office.. It also gave me a chance to be reunited with my friends.. ..

Thank God for futsal. Bow.

Sana bumalik na sina Dex and Jannin para mas masaya.

It’s a rare event for my Spanish classmates and I (especially Jpaul who always rushes to go home) to eat lunch together after class. So last last Saturday (9th session), with Nivel 1 classmates (Dona, Boni and Jpaul) and Cha (nivel 3-present classmate) we venture the streets of Manila to find a resto that’s not only delicious but also quantitative (ang technical pero ang gusto ko lang sabihn ay marami). Jpaul suggested this Mediterranean resto where we’re the only Filipinos who’s eating there.

We walked along the supposedly shortcut from Instituto to Rob Malate then finally after 30 mins of walking non-stop, we reach this green resto, aka “SHAWARMA_____CENTER”. (I forgot the complete name.hehehe).True enough, we’re the only Filipinos eating there since everybody except the staff are Middle eastern.

The ambiance of the resto is nice except for the second-hand smoke I’m getting from those Middle eastern guys. Apparently smoking is allowed inside an airconditioned place. It could’ve been okay if they’re just smoking local and ordinary size cigarettes BUT NOOO, they’re using this big tube (like a big Aladin’s lamp) or pipe that just puff lung-killing smokes.

I like the Mediterranean feel, the colorful lamps, the chairs and the lively designs. I was a bit nervous eating there since I haven’t eaten in those kind of restaurants and I’m not sure if my palate is going to love Mediterranean food. It’s just that I don’t want to waste money over some food that I can’t eat. So I played it safe, I choose (based from the menu with pics) the one that has chicken and rice. It seems palatable.

When our orders arrived, I was surprised to find a big bowl (parang caserola) with this half-size chicken. (andami pla nia) I didn’t expect it to be this many. The food tasted like chicken curry. It’s delicious but not enough to make me cry. (like Sonja’s cupcake). I like the Fita bread that Dona and Cha ordered. We also ordered a milky tea (forgot the name!) which I didn’t drink because it smells like ginger and I don’t drink tea.

While we were eating, Jpaul mentioned that in Asia, Philippines is the only country who don’t use a lot of spices in its cuisine. Probably, he was right. Most Filipino dishes are sweet, for example Spaghetti. Even Macany (GK volunteer from Taiwan) made a comment that why it is that most Filipino food are so sweet.

The food trip down Mabini St definitely reminds me that there many tastes of food that my palate still needs to explore.

Feel-ing: