In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Well, it was a Saturday. He had work and it was, as usual, my day off from the hubbub of a quasi-complex profession.

Nelson often leaves the office at 4 p.m. on weekends, and it was already 6:30 in the evening, so I was like, 'He should be home by now! It's Valentine's Day for Pete's sake!' Lounging on a sofa bed and on the verge of my shallow tears, I tried to think of reasons why he was an hour late. He mentioned having dinner out the day before, and I'd been expecting him to be home at around 5 o'clock. After all, he didn't text me and there was no confirmation of the date whatsoever.

I finally couldn't help it. I put away my laptop, picked up my mobile phone, and dialed his digits. He answered and I could hear the cacophony of traffic in the background. "Where are you, honey?" I tried to sound as calm as possible. "Not too far away, hon. I'm already in Marikina," was his reply. Hmmm... that means at least 10 more minutes, right? Wrong.

Thirty seconds after I ended the call, I heard him scuffling at the front door. I opened it to let him in -- much to his astonishment! "Akala ko na kayna mama ka! [Why are you here? I thought you were at mama's!]" he gasped. My mom lives next door, and I hang out at her place with Zakei on typical Saturdays. But not this time. I had the sniffles and felt like staying home.

I glanced at the bag of take-out food in his arms. Along with the chow, he was holding a red rose, an equally red heart-shaped balloon, a box of marjolaine cake from Red Ribbon, and a poster he made with our picture on it, all especially for the overrated lovers' day. My honey tried to set up a surprise romantic Valentine's dinner, and I screwed it up! (LOL)

Anyway, it was very much appreciated, honey! I love you with all that I am and all that I'll ever be.

A precious V-day rose from my precious

Happy Valentine's Day!!! :-)

I Blew My Fuse

Anger is a gift, a potent fuel that could either make you reek of revenge and self-deteriorate or channel your strengths and creative juices into a force a notch higher than anger itself -- change. What I've noticed among most successful folks is their dynamic affinity with the emotional boiling point at a certain stage in their lives. They were dissed by the others, mocked, put down, betrayed, and their remarkable response to what the world has brought upon them eventually led to the birth of new perspectives. In a roaring attempt to prove the "bad guys" wrong, they commit themselves to a lifetime of achievement.

A great catalyst, indeed, anger shouldn't be depicted as a mammoth conduit for rampant annihilation. If there's one thing that can turn your anger into a futile whiff, it's none other than hate. Hate leads you to a lot of sinning and leaves little or no room for positive occurrences.

Despite the personal progress I've made which stemmed out of pain, I have yet to master the art of molding anger into a compelling ally in all my pursuits. Yes, the world is apodictically replete with bitches and bastards of various sorts, and when I feel like retaliating in a snap, I constantly remind myself of the power of winning slowly but surely.