Joketime with Inang
Kanina sa hacienda, habang naglilinis ng maliliit na figurines…
Inang: (kinuha ang isang figurine) Oh, ito, si Melchor.
Ako: Hindi, si Baltazar yan!
Inang: Si ano yan, si Gomez!
Ako: Gomez???
Inang: Oo! Gomburza… Gomez, Burgos, Zamora.
Ako: Ha??? Eh paano namang naging sila yan???
Inang: Ay, tatlong pari pala yung Gomburza. Tatlong hari pala dapat. Melchor, Baltazar, Gaspar.
Ako: Hahahahahahahahaha.
Akala ko naman kung sino si Gomez… Ang galing ni Inang! Windang ako 
heto na naman…
nag-aaway na naman sila.
it’s the main reason why i don’t want to stay here for the remainder of my summer vacation. instead of relaxing, i find myself getting stressed up with all the nonsense. nakakainis. they’ve been acting like children.
“sa araw-araw na ginawa ng Diyos, ganito ang buhay natin.”
oo, araw-araw silang nag-aaway. paulit-ulit din naman yung mga pinuputak nila. tapos, ako na nga yung nananahimik sa isang tabi, papansinin pa ko. papagalitan pa ko. idadamay pa ko sa walang kwenta nilang bangayan. at kapag sinubukan ko namang ipagtanggol yung sarili ko, sasabihin nila, “at sumasagot ka na ngayon?”
shet lang.
sometimes, i wanted to run away from home. kaya siguro, okay na rin yung napagkasunduan namin. maybe, i’m better off without them. for selfish reasons, mas matatahimik ang buhay ko pag umalis ako.
but for selfish reasons too, i want to stay…
nakakainis, gusto kong tumahimik na sila. pero sino daw ba ako para utusan sila? ako lang naman ang mas nakakaalam na pareho silang mali, pero pinagpipilitan nilang tama sila. oo na, ako na yung mas nakakaalam. kaya ako dapat yung mas nakakaintindi.
haay.
oo na.
sighs.
i don’t like the fact that i’m just sitting here, benumbing my butt, and doing things that actually amount to nothing. i couldn’t think of something better to do than rant and blab about my totally useless and boring weekend.
to talk to my dad would be another failed attempt to make up with him. i just don’t like another confrontation that would lead to hurt egos. besides, i think he also realized that conflicts would not be cleared out soon, and it’s way better that we stay out of each other’s sight. well, i’ve mastered pretending that i truly love my super interesting bedroom and it would be too hard for me to part with it even for a while. actually, i only go out of my room when i have to pee, check the mail, blog, or sneak out for food.
i wasn’t going out to my friends’ houses, too. i miss them more than ever, now that i’m beginning to think that their places feel more like home to me. i miss the summer days when i could hang out with them anywhere and anytime.
cause now, i’m literally stuck in here. here is where i don’t belong. i know i’m just thinking all these and exaggerating about mostly everything. yet, i couldn’t help it. worse, nobody’s helping me to think otherwise. all of them are proving to be sticking on what i’ve believed in. that i really am an outcast.
oh well, i should be focusing on other things.
i could be indifferent forever.
by now, i’ve perfected my role of being an outcast at home. as soon as i entered our gates yesterday evening, i had put on my sulky-and-silent mood. it’s easier this way. i’m more peaceful. we don’t have to pretend that everything’s fine. and we don’t have to make believe that we could still somehow patch things up. so it’s better to stay this way. no efforts wasted. no mouths drained and strained. no anger boiled.
just an invisible barrier. and this cold war.
sa bahay.
nasa bahay na ako. dito sa bulacan. i don’t feel at home, really.
the whole week, i was just full of resentment towards my family. especially my dad. i tried hard to avoid conversations about him. pero kung hindi talaga maiwasan, ramdam na ramdam ko yung hatred inside me habang pinag-uusapan s’ya.
worse, nobody seemed to understand me. lagi nilang sinasabi na ako naman yung may kasalanan. as if alam nila yung buong storya. kailangan ba ako nalang lagi yung nagpaparaya at umiintindi?
worst, dad has his special way of making me feel like crap.
at ngayon, nasa bahay nga ako. pero hindi ito ang tahanan ko.
“Don’t enter, Chicks inside”
..nasa Virginia na si inang. naisip ko tuloy yung mga kalukahan namin bago s’ya umalis. kunyaring senti mode tayo ngayon. haha!
..saturday morning ang flight ni inang. kaya friday afternoon, lumuwas na sila patungo sa condo ni kuya dino, in the hope of getting a real sleep before she board the plane. pero syempre, hindi naman nangyari yun due to packing and cramming and all. anyway, dinaanan nila ako sa dorm dahil gusto kong sumama maghatid kay inang. turned out na buong barangay pala ang kasama sa van. i mean, kasama si janjan, dete nora with datdat, and nanay [na katumbas talaga ng isang barangay]. sumabit parin ako kasi sayang yung pamasahe ko pauwi.
..and so we went to SM Sta. Mesa, na kami lang ni inang yung naiwan to wait for Sanse, tapos nauna na sa condo yung iba. ayun, konting shopping and kain. pagdating namin sa condo, kumain ulit kami. haha!
..tapos nagsimula nang magulo ang buong ka-condo-han sa pag-eempake ni inang. haha! well, di naman masyado. saka may short lecture si kuya dino about sa itenerary ni inang. tapos tulog-tulog ng konti.
..nung umaga, nagising ako sa ingay ng mga paa sa kwarto. nagbibihisan na pala ang buong ka-condo-han. inaantok pa ako kaya hindi na ako nagpumilit pang sumama maghatid dahil buong barangay naman ang kasama. ayun, nakikain nalang ako. saka natulog ulit.
..tapos, edi nagising ulit ako. naiwan ni inang yung isang jacket na binili namin. tsk3! talaga naman oh!
..ayun, umuwi na kami. 
..ayy, yung tungkol sa title.. hahaha!
..kasi ganito yun, kwentuhan sila inang, ama, at dete nora. [not word by word]
“Chu Rene, dapat magpraktis ka na mag-ingles kasi english-speaking na si
Cha Tale pag-uwi n’ya. May kasama pang Amerikano yan.” sabi ni Dete Nora.
“Nako. Magsasabit nga ako ng karatula sa gate. Para pagpasok palang n’yan, makikita na n’ya, ‘Don’t enter, Chicks inside.” sabi ni Ama.
