Menage a Trois

Two will always never be enough.

Part Une

“The moment you met someone you love, you just feel it

You don’t question

Because love does not require thinking

If there’s still any chance to resurrect a dying love, you stay

But if the chance is nil, you walk away and never come back

Both parties must commit to an understanding

That you have your own life. And so does he

If he asks for anything more than that, complications arise

I’ve had enough complexities to trade a lifetime

Macky is a decision

A change from the pressure surrounding me

He’s uncomplicated. I stay.”

-- Jake

“Love can painfully be a never-ending search for contentment

A few couples stay for comfort

Not knowing there may be another life outside

You evolve. Your ideals change

You crave for adventure- crazy, mind-blowing and over the top

All of a sudden, a perfect routine bores you to death

There’s only one chance to live so why not make the most of it?

After all, regret is indispensable

I met Jake some years ago

I saw a future of us together

Sadly the vision now seems to blur every passing moment.”

-- Macky

“Love is not a competition for survival

Yet sometimes, someone has to end up a loser

You smile, accept the defeat of yet another failed relationship

Deception is the key

To the worn-out happy mask you always wear

Night after night, you party and drown yourself from moment’s trance

Thinking that tomorrow is the start of another battle

You hope that this time, you win

And it’ll all be over

I’m the stranger to Jake and Macky’s experiment

The trois to the ménage

I agreed, secretly hoping that after tonight

Love will be able to find me.”

-- Calvin

Part Deux

Endless stars fill the evening sky for the night is not any other night

These stars seem to be the only witness to an experiment

A couple, the stranger, and a deep longing for something missing

The act is ignited by the bottle of tequila

Calvin, the stranger, started the act

With his seducing eyes piercing right through Jake’s soul

Jake hesitated and for one moment thought of quitting

One last glance of assurance is all he needed

From Macky, whose expression bore a go-signal

Eyes closed and uneasy, he gave his lips to Calvin

Macky joined the duo, like a carnivore starving for flesh

He spotted himself in the middle, sandwiched

From Calvin to Jake, kissing and caressing

The liquor made his mind not identify who’s who any longer

Sweat’s all over from bodies whose scorching heat

Is emanating within the four walls of the room

Souls are bare and bodies intertwined

One on top of the other

The third on top of one

Three bodies danced in slow sensual movement

All you can hear were heavy breathing

From the mouths where tongues glide through each others’ skins

And with one last heaving the moaning stopped

In complete ecstasy their bodies dropped.

Part Trois

Three hours is all it takes to entirely change three people’s lives

There they are – three lost souls lying, one beside the another

Whose only connections now seems to be their tired bodies

Pleasured by an experiment that’s now long bygone

It’s the adventure Macky just needed

To prove that his horizons are still broad and wide

Jake, on the other hand, partake to a conflict he forever avoids

Now there’s no other way but to run and escape

Same old Calvin will return to battle

The unending pursuit to his life’s puzzle

Open-ended and no conclusion

Dawn breaks and light starts to appear

The sun shot a glistening stare to three naked people

His eyes curious yet sad, realizing that after waking up

The trio are headed nowhere.**

Memoirs of a 25-yr old Bum

“Life’s like a movie. Keep pretending. Keep believing" - Jim Henson

Today marks an ending of yet another chapter of my life. Don’t cry for me. I know I’m not sad. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this life, it’s how to be numb. Apathy may appear as my excuse but frankly, it’s my greatest strength. I didn’t love that company anyway so it’s not really big of a deal to leave. Come to think of it, what have I learned from that office anyway? Hmm... ahh... surprise! I can’t think of any.

Sorry Mark Daigle, but your crap of a company was a waste of my time.

Call me bitter but I feel like Erin Brokovich during my last days there- minus the cleavage, divorce and, the environmental poisoning legal case. I just couldn’t stop fighting.

Truly shocking, given the fact I hate disputes. I don’t even watch war-movies except if they’re top-billed by Tom Cruise or Matt Damon.

There seems to be a part of me who wants justice for fair compensation. I’m not even talking about myself anymore. Those poor employees need to get their hard-earned money, period. Dr. Hannibal Lecter suddenly keeps swirling inside my head: Quid pro quo. Something for something.

When my dad asked me to end the inexorable battle, I agreed. Not only because he’s a father I look up to but I decided my precious efforts need not be wasted by those trashy non-Filipino citizens. Surely, blood is thicker than my boss’ face.

I am no Simba. I was not born to greatness, or so I was told. That never occurred to me as a problem. I was a kid for heaven’s sake! There’s princes Harry and William and heiresses Paris and Nikki. Siblings usually appear in two’s. But I was a middle child. While my bro can have all the power and my sis can be a big brat, I can be what I want. Life’s simple- no spoil equals no pressure. Hakuna Matata.

Enter the cliché world of high school where you can somehow peep on almost all the types of party list groups we have today. I never believed the clique you first hang out with will be your typecast. I was friends with nerdy Joseph Capulong and wanna-be Michael Bulaong prior to being stereotyped as a Coyote Ugly aka Jawbreakers or Mean Girls.

What I’m trying to say is there’s always a Vylette in me that I can never change. I may be flocked by a minion of queen bee’s and surrounded by non-sense jocks back on those years but I still have my jologs heart and interests inside.

Probably one memory I can never forget was even in high school, I didn’t stop fighting- in contests. I always lose, almost quit but never gave up. Now that I think is a Blair Waldorf moment.

College came and everyone seems to be on purpose. Some want to find love, others crave for sex but the rest, including myself, search for themselves.

“This will be a best time and I daresay don’t be scared to experiment because only then you’ll be able to come up with a conclusion about yourself.” - very well said, my Philo professor.

Deep down I searched and I asked: what do I really want. More so, what do I really like doing. As compared to science, I love arts, that’s for sure. But what’s with arts I’m extremely at ease of doing? That’s when it hit me. I was Billy Elliot, just replace dancing with writing.

I never claim it was great. But it was comfortably satisfying. Writing is a passion I need not brag for me to be happy. Because doing it makes me happy already.

What’s next has yet to come. I worked and still plan to work in a call center. And I have no regrets whatsoever. I mean, I can be Carrie Bradshaw all I want but I can’t buy those designer stuffs she has.

That’s the reality and we can’t escape it. Movies will entertain but there will always be a thin line, almost invisible we should not cross. Money still is a vital necessity to live.

And that my friends is what sucks. Big time.

O.M.effing.G! vol2.09

“If u wanna be part of this world, people will talk. You need to decide if all these... worth it” – B.W.

Mid-year hiatus is done but the drama isn’t. Forget about this year’s disasters ‘cause something’s telling me nothing can ever topple the Coyote’s latest scandals. It’s the season of giving so I’m feeling it would be just to make it as this version’s unifying theme. But knowing the Royalty by heart, you must be careful what to wish, as you can never expect the return.

Let me start with the no-showers to this year’s biggest event- yet. The hostess threw a birthday bash like no other but it seems some Coyotes were goners, well at least two of them. L’s excuse is a visit to a hospital. Awww, sweet L, taking care of a sick friend! A friend in need is a friend indeed. But what if this so-called friend is still the Married Man from the South? And this so-called hospital is let’s say, a motel? And I don’t wanna delve into the “visit” part anymore. Really, L, is this excuse the best you can think of?

B, goner number two. No text means no show can be her motto but why is it everytime A is in, she’s out? Sources say this has something to do with a non-happening that Mall Guy (aka her boyfriend) is reporting her. And since its Christmas, let me tell you about two facts of decency, B: One, everybody lies and so did your boyfriend. Two, dissing your long-time BFF’s over a crazy-liar-not even close to perfection-boyfriend is a big N-O!

Speaking of crazy, D’s X makes the top of my list. We get it, he’s a psycho major, but does he need to make D his ultimate specimen? D can be as hardcore as her outer shell but when it comes to life-threatening situations, D is just a traumatized victim as everybody else. You don’t have to kill someone to prove you’re crazy, X! Do I hear asylum guards coming over?

P, spotted and poof! Disappeared. Oh why am I not surprised, she’s still with the Chinese Twink. Love may be all around her but money, not be found. Especially if he sees her as a one-way ATM who he can always dispense cash from. If you don’t believe me, P, I dare you to take a little experiment. Try not splash him with all his goodies for seven days and observe if Twink doesn’t look for a more giving cougar. And oh, don’t forget to write down your conclusion.

And the ultimate scandal of ‘em all is V- finding a date of her own! But before anyone offers their congratulations to V for getting out of her shell and dumping the I-don’t-need-a-boy-attitude, listen to this first: It’s the High Schools’s biggest nerd. Poor V, scoring a loser doesn’t make you a winner. Just when you think you have it in the bag, it always slides down the gutter.

When somebody hands you over a secret, it all depends on you now. It’s a basic kindergarten question: Do you take it all in or let somebody spill it again? I’m always watching, XOXO.

Ga-Ga Over Guys

“When we label guys – single, single-looking, attached, complicated – we forget to look past the label and just see what’s on the outside. So sometimes, some labels are best left in the closet.”

All guys laugh when feeling jovial, frown first before crying and grab a bite when tummy calls. They basically do everything a normal human does. But why is it that everytime they smile gently with their subtle dimples or haughtily bare their just-got-out-of-the-gym bodies or show their gentlemanly ways, we seem to surrender all our white flags. I couldn’t help but wonder “What is it with guys we’re getting ga-ga over with?”

Let’s admit it. Society classify men as to what car model he drives, cellphone unit he holds and the kind of books he reads (if he even reads!). They’re even labelled as to the clique they hang out with. True. Because friends share the same hobbies. Some dance, others solve math problems. But as for us, we judge. And we judge big time.

Enter Exhibit A.

The Good Kind

Imagine you are in a very long line of your favourite fast food chain waiting for your order to be taken. Then unexpectedly a guy in front of you offers to get your order instead so he can combine it with his. You suddenly wanted to scream “How sweet!” Why? Because even if it’s just a one order away, yet still, there’s the act of kindness amounting to sweetness that we feel oh-so-girly about ourselves. We feel important because we don’t get to experience this kind of treatment very often, at least not in our everyday fastfood-line lives.

I call these guys the “Good Kind”. They are those who offer their seats in the MRT, open and close their car doors for us and, take care of us when we’re sick. Everything they do is for our own benefit. Your activities together include going to church every Sundays, shopping gifts for your nieces and attending your barkada’s birthday parties. Everything’s going so smoothly. You compare your relationship to a plain grass field of a feel-good musical.

Warning!

A calm water runs deep or the other way around. The first 5 months into the relationship may be heaven but after a long time of your boy’s kindness to strangers, you feel like throwing up already. Everything may be running straight according to plan but once you passed by a rough road and slipped through a slope, you may never be able to continue the journey. Besides a girl needs to have a little bit of adventure, right?!

Exhibit B - D’ Intimidator.

It’s the first day of your new job and you’re getting ready for a mancom meeting. It was getting a bit boring when suddenly the company’s VP for Operations spoke to the front and discussed your monthly’s data revenue. He’s everything you look up to. He’s got the money (or the car!), the brains (speaks at least 3 languages, 1 of them you can’t understand) and the physique (from an exclusive gym membership) that’s exactly from your dreams (wet or not).

D’ Intimidators can be defined directly from its context. They intimidate the hell out of you, in a good way though. He can be your authoritative boss at work or your well-respected college professor. You feel like you just won a beauty pageant wearing a tiara and carrying a hot trophy whenever you’re with your boy. Your girl (and gay) friends are greening with envy since you just scored dating the hunky varsity player of your school or the charming endorser of the latest toothpaste commercial.

Warning!

You may be on cloud nine being an instant celebrity grabbing the perfect catch. However there’s a fine line between getting intimidated and feeling insecure, especially if both these feelings are brought by your man. Jealous girls (and girls at heart!) gaze at your boy with lustful eyes while they stare at you with question mark on their faces everytime you’re together. You’re hearing whispers and you become delusional. I’m hearing “Why care?” but let’s be realistic, it’s hard not to. Question is - can you handle it forever?

Exhibit C.

Geek God

You and your girlfriends planned on watching the latest horror movie one uneventful weeknight. And as predicted, they all cancelled saying all the lame excuses. As much as you like, you rather not watch it alone since you know you’re a scaredy-cat. You’re starting to lose hope when all of a sudden you heard a knock on your door. It’s your guy-friend-cute-next-door-neighbor asking if he can chill out. A light bulb came across your face and you smiled and Voila! problem solved.

You don’t get to think of him a lot. He’s never included on your list of “5 guys I want to be trapped with in an elevator”. He’s comfortable, harmless and always unexpectedly there. He helps you with your book report, fixes your laptop, advises you the latest in music, etc. They’re called the “Geek God” though not all of them are nerds. You call him ‘tol (dude, bro’, ‘pre) and enjoy each other’s company. You can be in your maximum self when you’re with him. And so is he. You can fart, show your talent and laugh your heart out.

Warning!

Before you call “Love” for your childhood best friend aka Geek God, you have to show him first that your feelings are real and he’s not just a throw-back for someone else. You say this might be destiny since let’s admit it, you know him for a very long time. However, some girls (and I have to reiterate – girls alike!) crave for a little mystery with their man. You need to carefully decide if you’re willing to sacrifice friendship for relationship or the other way around before plunging into the relationship. You find him cute and it might be better if it stays that way.

Last Exhibit.

Man in the Iron Mask (MIM).

TGISN (Thank God It’s Saturday Night) and every one of your friends are going out – on a date. Of course, you don’t want to be left out a loser. But first, you have to make proper preparations. So before you take a shower or even pick your fabulous getup for the night, you went online first. Cross-fingers and high hopes, you started chatting with the hottest on-looker on the netroom. After about 15 minutes of getting to know each other’s basic info (aka ASL, STATS, PREF), you both agreed to meet up (aka EB). And on your way to the meeting place, a smile is developing on your face thinking you might’ve gotten the perfect catch for the night.

If guys have fantasies, so have we. MIM’s can be those in (tight) uniforms saving us from our damsel in distress’ situations (enter Superman!). Or that rock band vocalist asking you over a crowd full of screaming girls to go up the stage and jam with him. Whatever it is that you fantasize about, one thing’s for sure, us girls (again, girls-alike!) fancy the feeling of mystery. Why do you think girls love to go to bars even if they don’t drink? So an MIM (stranger) can unlimitlessly flirt with her (and she to him). And even for that brief moment, we feel utterly and excitingly desirable. Pathetic but true.

Warning!

Let’s be honest. Out of 10 MIM’s hook-ups, only 3 become successful relationships. Meaning, there is hope. But never dare make false expectations. I have a friend who’s hobby is to date MIM’s and feels he found the One, everytime! Until, his One turned out to be a Crazy One. He went on and on looking for his next MIM who turned out to be crazier than the previous. What I mean is, an MIM can only be probably as good as it’s mask. There’s a lot of kind strangers out there. Same with the not-so. Be careful not to turn your EB’s and ASL’s into RIP. Just a friendly reminder.

I, therefore, conclude that,

Labelling guys differ, from one girl (or gay) to another. It doesn’t matter what we look for or how we see them through. Some desperately search for physicality, others want emotion-understanding ek-ek. A few stick to one label while most hop from one to another. Again it doesn’t matter. It’s your own choice anyway.

But we have to remember one thing - it's not inportant getting ga-ga (committing with or with no-sex) to a guy because of its label. For what its worth, it's falling for him even passed through the label.