Sunday, September 09, 2007 Estremera: Sarap buhay By Stella Estremera Spider's web
THIS guy is back in Makati and groaning about it having spent five years here.
In our brief exchange, I pointed out to him that now that he has tasted life in Davao but has to suffer through the life in Makati once again, he can just slow down a bit, observe the people rushing past him, and laugh.
Yes, laugh. That's what I feel like doing whenever I'm stuck in Makati for some seminar or meeting because I see silliness in all the rush and pretense.
The business image everyone tries to project in order to fit in is bubbling over with sheer pretense, it could make your hair stand. But because they are Tagalog there with a huge dollop of business district English, they will never understand one word that best describes them as a whole, "hilas." And the Dabawenyos grin.
Browsing around Powerbooks, one of the three saving graces of Makati (the other two are Music One and their walkable sidewalks, whether on ground or elevated), two people who apparently went to college together met up and were updating each other about their work. I wanted to bang them with the heavy hardbound book I was browsing through. I've never heard a conversation as heavily-laden with buzzwords as that one. Pretense was dripping from their tongues. It was... hilas.
I overcame the temptation to bang them with a book by telling myself to see them through a Dabawenyo's eyes. I quickly did and snorted out a giggle. The two looked my way, I gave them a silly grin. They continued with their conversation. I picked another book. They just made my day...
Back in Davao, my friends and I can't help but exclaim over the life we are enjoying here, especially after indulging ourselves with the bumper harvest of fruits Davao is now experiencing. At one such binge, my buddy and I bought a total of three large native variety durian fruits and seven kilos of mangosteen only to be charged less than P500. As we groaned and patted our tummies, all we could heave out was the phrase that has become the mantra of Dabawenyos, "Sarap talaga ng buhay sa Dabaw."
Last week as deadlines and problems were about to fray my nerves, I swapped my Thursday regular day-off to an earlier day -- very early in the week in fact, last Tuesday -- and went diving. Not just a one-dive release, but a whole day morning till dusk dive such that my jaw became so sore after biting on the air regulator for hours. I decided to go diving afternoon on the day before. Like where else, without planning, can you do that while living and working in a highly urbanized city?
That dive trip while a grand escape was not enough though. The pressures were still not letting up, and work kept on piling on top of the other, I was practically eating deadlines for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with two snacks in between and an occasional midnight snack, thus by Friday evening, I was bouncing off walls again. The solution, an overnight trip to a mountain haven my friends and I disappear to every once in a while. Again, no planning, just texts and a few phone calls (after the messages that had to be exchange became longer such that texting has become so cumbersome). With just one message sent out, friends drop whatever they intend to do to escape with me. No clear plans not even what food we intend to bring. We can talk about the details later, anyway food abounds even along the highways.
Like the whole-day diving trip, it's just going to be a very short mountain escape. We leave after lunch Sunday, we'll be back Monday. We are still responsible citizens of this world and attending to responsibilities rank high in our list. But because we are Dabawenyos, loosening up ranks just as high and that is mainly because Dabawenyos have loosening up well within their reach.
You don't even have to bother with bookings, accommodations, planning, taking a leave, whatever... all you need to do is grab a few friends and go. Where? We can discuss that later on the road. We're in Davao, we'll never go hungry, we'll never run out of places to go, and the mountains, the sea, the rivers, the release are just around the corner. All we need to remember is to bring the wine and the corkscrew, anyway we'll be back in time for work the following day with a silly grin of relief and release.
