The Emancipation of Jun-jun

"Be careful of what you wish for you might just get it!"

That’s precisely what’s been bugging on my mind these days…actually there is a saying that is pretty similar with the statement above, I read it in a text message, but I’m just too tired to scroll my brain cells at this point.

Anyways, talking about hopes and wishes, one of my frequent wish before was to be bigger and heavier…I really dread those times when they make fun of my tiny and skinny body…They call me so many names that I can’t help but wish to be someone else. So I thought maybe if I become bigger and heavier, they will never make fun of me again.

So I eat and eat and eat! Since 2004 I make it a point to eat at least 6 times a day. There was even a time when I hop from one restaurant to another at one meal time just to gain weight and be the heavier and bigger ely that I wanted to be.

Two years after, I become bigger and heavier. So I just got what I wanted!The good news is they never call me "lampayatot" or "patpatin" again, the bad news, they call me "butod", or "butete" and they can’t help smiling everytime they see my bulging face.

Reality is, I am becoming fat day after day and I just can’t help eating and eating. How I wish I could turn back time and get rid of all these bulges on my belly. I just miss my sexy abs! Well it’s time for me to take a diet and wish that I’ll be a little thinner than I am today!

I always make it a point to avoid burials and funerals…I don’t know but the thought of being in a place with a coffin makes me scared and the thought that it’s gonna be lonely there all the while is a torture on its own!

So whenever there’s a funeral or a burial rites…I always make lame excuses to avoid being there.

But this week is different…I have to be in a funeral, because one of the closest person in my life died…He is our neighbor before and I consider him a family. He is the dad of my closest friends, in our place before. I must say I’m much closer to his family than some of my relatives and friends…They have been a salient part of me and I will always treasure all the beautiful things that they have imparted in my life….So I have no choice but to be there!

Being a nuisance in the funeral is really weird! My mind’s been so bothered as I get to hear so many superstitious beliefs that I’ve never heard before…You’re not supposed to wear red or orange on the funeral…There should be someone awake even in the wee hours of the day during the duration of the wake…That you’re not supposed to bring along the food prepared there at home or something bad might happen and the list goes on and on and on…I’m quite bothered with the FOOD part…hmmm…Those delicious donuts and cakes have to be given to all the personnel at the memorial park! duh!

Anyways, the part that I don’t really like in funerals is the gambling and drinking part…I don’t see a point why people engage in these activities…In my opinion it’s innapropriate and should be part of the long-lists of superstitous beliefs out there…

More importantly I’ve learned the essence of family during the whole course of my experience at the funeral…The bonding, the sleepless nights, the chitchats, the new found friends, the reunion of old friends and relatives…These are the rewards of a funeral in my opinion…It made me more human and made me think of my own family as well…It’s a reflection of my life and where it is heading to…It is a beginning of a more meaningful and productive life for everyone and a lesson that each one should know and brought to life…

(In loving memory of Papa Alex Sy…I’ll miss you and THANK YOU!)