Written Contusions

Lesson 4: A kid should not be allowed to run wild in the Antipolo area, especially within the driveways of Assumption - Antipolo.

1987 - Year 4 in the life of Rchrd.

Back in the day, my mother and father worked for a school bus company that ferried children to different prominent schools in the Philippines. My father worked as a bus driver, and my mother worked as a bus mother. Her work entailed that she took care of the kids, especially the ones that hava a habit of standing up and running around the bus while it is moving.

At that age, 4 years old, I was still sorely attached to my mother so she would usually bring me to work. Otherwise, the entire neighborhood would be woken by my loud cry at 5:00 AM. Since the job was relatively easy - she just had to really work when the kids are there - it allowed her to bring me with her.

She was assigned to a bus that took kids to Assumption - Antipolo. While waiting for the kids' dismissal time, we would often sit on the grass and have a picnic. There were also cashew trees in the vicinity of the school so we would pick the fallen fruits and play with it. However, one day, I got the impression that it was fun to run on the asphalt driveway of a downhill road. She tried to run after me, but she was too late. "Blag!" I went down on my forehead and rolled a few feet more.

That fall was monumental because I got a bump on my forehead that really protrudes from it. Even now, when I look at myself in the mirror, I can still see that bump on the right side of my forehead.

Lesson 3. Don't listen to a word that your neighbors say.

1986 - Year 3 in the life of Rchrd.

Back in 1986, I can't really remember much but I do remember two things: my sister was born on 1986 and my neighbors said so many things about her already.

They were saying, "Hala hindi ka na mahal ng Daddy mo. May iba na siyang mahal." Roughly translated, they said that I was in big trouble because my Daddy had a new kid to love; he would not love me anymore. Much of that threat became ingrained in me as I was growing up. Because of that, I bullied my sister. I used to say that she was ugly just because I really thought that she was replacing me in the hearts of my parents. It is sad to say but I was not a good big brother to my sister when we were growing up.

Looking back in time, I feel bad about it. Even though we were bitter enemies when we were kids, I now appreciate my sister in so many ways. She is one person that equalls me intellectually. We could have conversations about genetics and art in the easiest manner. Just this Sunday, we watched Harry Potter 6, and she treated because I didn't have enough budget to watch a movie.

I wouldn't have this regret if I didn't listen to my stupid -- yes they are stupid -- neighbors. Had I known what I know now, I would have taken better care of her.

The picture came from this website: http://architel.com/2008/05/01/gossip-or-networking-2/.

The past couple of weeks have been too stressful to me. My mother is asking me to prepare all the documents that I would need to apply for a housing loan so I am really stressed over that. Last December, I went to the compulsory seminar for people who want to apply for one. I am just lacking a copy of my employment contract and my payslips. Hopefully, I get them all next week so I can stop stressing over it.

On a lighter note, I found this online game called Mafia Mofo and I felt addicted. The concept of the game is based on a life of crime. I am playing as a regular mobster trying to make my way to the top of the crime hierarchy. It felt so violent so I related to it because of all the pent up frustration I am feeling. Interested? Check it out -

The Three Incestuous Sisters
by Audrey Niffenegger

I have picked this book up from Powerbooks in Glorietta 3 last year and I wasn't able to put it down. Good thing that the bookstore had an opened sample book for me to read.

Being a surrealist myself, I liked the graphic novel style that it comes in. The pictures are grotesque (I agree with the review from Publishers Weekly) and quite haunting too. It gave a look of darkness born out of an intense desire to covet a precious object. I remember shaking my head as the three sisters scheme to get the man that they all fell in love with. With this in mind, I was thankful that when me and my sister had fights, it didn't escalate to the level these three sisters went to.

Here's a short summary from Associated Content:

There are three sisters: Bettine, the luminous blonde, the mystical
and blue-haired middle child, Clothilde; and the dreary black-haired eldest,
Ophile. They live in a coastal isolation worthy of Emily Dickinson until Bettine
falls in love with Paris the lighthouse keeper's son. Ophile goes nearly insane
with envy, while Clothilde magically mentors her unborn nephew, the Saint
(which, in case you're worried, is as close as we get to the incest referred to
in the title). When Ophile's jealousy leads to Bettine's death, the
green-skinned Saint is picked up by a traveling carnival. More loss, grief
and high drama ensue before the Saint finds his way back to his ancestral home.

The pictures alone are worth every penny you will pay for this book. I haven't quite fully understand why I like this book or what it means but it is definitely in my list of good books to buy apart from Neil Gaiman.