Monday, May 01, 2006

Dear Girls,

Attempting to look thoughtful and pensive :)

Last week I met one of the village's famous citizens. He came to the house, I served him coffee, and while I was studying him I couldn't shake off the notion that he looked a lot like Stephen King, with a wild bush of hair and a squarish face that was, well, strange. One of the fingers of his left hand was cut just above the middle joint. Since it was our first meeting I didn't think it was the right time to ask him why.

Anyway. The man is an educator, one of the country's prized intellectuals; and a writer. What does he write about? He told me, "A mix of psychology, literature, philosophy, all to talk about the reality of otherness." He had given my husband one of his works, but my French is not yet good enough for that level of smart. Our visitor, I was told, had published some ten books, and is a much-sought after speaker in lectures and conferences.

Then he asked me what I did. "You were an educator, too, back home?" Nowhere near as noble as that, I replied. I wrote and edited for newspapers and magazines. "And now what do you write?" he continued the interrogation. I fidgeted. I looked at his cup, still two-thirds full, so there was no escape in a refill. No psychology and philosophy in what I do, I thought. Aloud, I said, "Just... uhm... fiction... uhm... short stories. Weirdness, individual quirks, some magical element, if I can manage it... that kind of thing."

He nodded, leaned back on his chair, and for a minute was silent. Then, "Me, too, I wish I had more time. I want to write poetry and short stories too."

We looked at each other, him through his square-framed plastic eyeglasses, me squinting because I hadn't put on my contact lenses. Smiling weakly, I went ahead and refilled his cup.

All my girls, but especially Maya and Tara, it hit me then. Not a respected intellectual, and definitely not us. No one is ever really satistified with what they have, are they.

Yun lang. My not-so-original thought for the day.

Love,
Your Ati

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

let me know when youre online so i could provide you the email of the guy in ibiza. maybe it would be better if you write to him directly before forwarding your jewelry designs.

decorator said...

ano bah!?!

i remember our vigan by the beach talk where you actually slept on the breakwater... "kailangan kong maging pokpok ngayon, tsaka na lang yung art-art, kapag may pera na ako."

sigh!

Apol said...

HAHAHAHA!!! GWYN, those were the days!!! Very Buddhist ang styling mo ngayon ha. Ganda. TUESDAY, actually, madalas akong online, invisible lang hee. Next time makita kita online, ibu-buzz kita. Although madalas kang Idle...

Makis said...

Musta ka na dyan, Apol? I bet you're enjoying the weather down there. We'll see each other on saturday, no?

Anonymous said...

Apol! Zarina here. I found this link through Dean's blog. Very nice. You look great, as always. Glad to hear you're still writing...

Anonymous said...

I'm amazed by your work and by all the positive feedback I've been getting about you. I hope to God that you won't be used by people posing as friends. I know you'll be able to sense them from a mile, or even thousands of miles, away. Good luck in all you do! :)

Apol said...

Hi, MAKIS and ZARINA! CONCERNED, thanks for your, uhm, concern, but I don't get it:(

Kiko said...

i like the picture here. You look thoughtful and pensive with really long horns :-D Winner!

mcsister said...

Apol, i LOVE the photo too (and love Kiko's 'long horn' comment). True, we are never satisfied. So how now? Hey I sent you an email ;-)

decorator said...

atih, i stole your photo... hihihih!!!


cant help it, im sorry.

Apol said...

HOY, I just read the last comments. True, I am Apol, the flat-nosed reindeer!