Loser Much

“Naku naman guys! Nya pala traffic edsa at malate ku pa. Atsu ne pala i Abi. Ramdam n ramdam d2”

This was the first text message I received when I got back from my 2-week US vacation. What a sweet way to welcome me, huh? c;

Gone were the days when the word “loser” is defined as someone who is defeated or beaten. With all the influential TV shows and movies we have at present, the word’s meaning has also evolved.  Now we can equate this word with being unfortunate, unlucky or accident-prone.

I believe I am not born a loser, no one is.

But well, I do not know how to ride a bike or scooter, to ice-skate, to jump rope and to play Chinese garter. I am not that knowledgeable with anime or cartoons that my peers used to watch when we were still young. I, together with Baby Dax, lost the only two contests we’ve joined in our senior year. I burst into tears as the last question was being read last Pautakan 2007. Everyone expected me to graduate First Honorable Mention or Salutatorian, Best in Math and Leadership or Service Awardee but I did not. I am currently repeating one subject and I haven’t experienced dorm life. Jeepneys are usually out of sight when my friends and I want to go to the mall.

That’s a lot of signs right? But there’s more. Here are some recent experiences I had that might justify my being loser:

BRAIN FREEZE

This happened when we were watching Ice Age 3 at SM San Lazaro.

(Scene from the movie)

Crash: “Look he’s right there!” (pointing at Sid)

Buck: “Roger!” (pretending to have a radio contraption)

Eddie: “No, Sid”

Buck: “I know, Roger.”

Crash: “How about we get Sid first then go back for Roger.”

Buck: “No, never mind.”

Abi: “Sino ba si Roger?”

Ching: “Hahaha. Joke ba yan?”

Abi: “Di nga, sino si Roger?”

Ching: “Seryoso ka talaga?!”

Abi: “Wala akong matandaan na Roger sa characters eh. Sino ba yun?”

Ching: “Hahahaha! Abi, ang loser mo talaga!”

Later did I realize that Roger was not a character from the movie but an expression usually used in civilian aviation radio communication.

GIFT, BOO and I

I rarely commute when I go home to Pampanga. My father usually fetches me on Friday afternoons. But there came this afternoon sometime last month when my Dad had some business to settle in Tagaytay and he wasn’t able to fetch me at the boarding house. So I decided to go with Ham and Bryan.

Ham and Bry wanted to wait for a bus at TriNoma. I wanted to go to the Victory Liner at Cubao, but who am I to argue with these two Pinanari boys who are used to commuting? Haha. We arrived at TriNoma at around 5 in the afternoon. Ham treated us a mini bucket of fries so that we will have something to eat during our ride back home (and to keep my mouth shut while we are waiting for the bus). We waited. And waited. And waited.  At 6:00, something came. No, not the bus but the heavy rain. I pleaded to Ham and Bry that we commute to Cubao and just ride a bus there. At 6:15, I successfully convinced the two that we were waiting for nothing at the TriNoma terminal and so we rode a taxi and went to Victory Terminal. At around 7, we were finally comfortably seated at the bus eating the donuts bought by Bryan.

“Dana, ngeni pa melyari kanaku itang makanta. Palagi na ku man misasake keng TriNoma ah.” –Hamuel

STRANDED

My Dad and I experienced a lot of misfortunes when we were on our way back to the Philippines from the US.

First, we had to re-arrange our things in the airport lobby just to be able to comply with the weight limit and the number of hand-carry baggages allowed. Good thing my uncle brought with him some packaging tape and pens.

Then, we were transferred to another airline without prior notice. Unexpectedly, the plane we were supposed to ride was delayed and in order to have a connecting flight to the Philippines, we have to be reassigned to another airline. Instead of going to Hong Kong, the airplane led us to the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan! Haha.

After so many hours, we arrived at our beloved country but the misfortune didn’t cease there. There was a problem at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The airplanes from different parts of the world can’t enter a terminal there because of some electrical problem. So our plane landed at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport instead. We waited until the problem at NAIA was resolved. Imagine that, we were at Pampanga already but we can’t go out the airplane. Another so-close-yet-so-far-away situation. Haha. We arrived at NAIA at around 4 am, 4 hours later than our expected time of arrival.

It’s all a matter of perspective and choice.

Being a “loser” is not that bad. At least I am not a bitter or a pathetic loser. When I asked one batchmate why he enjoys teasing me he said, “Di ka kasi napipikon eh.” We can’t avoid all these misfortunes and manifestations of being a loser. But as we face these things we can choose to rant and be mad about it or to see something positive in it.

For example, the situation my Dad and I have been through is really memorable; not because we were ill-fated then but because that was the only time that my Dad and I bonded and talked to each other long. With the Ice Age 3 movie, my mind may be running slow but that was one of the few moments I saw Ching laughed really hard while she’s with me. With that long trip with Ham and Bry, I have to thank them for being patient despite my complaints and for satisfying my appetite with the donuts and the fries.

The world may sometimes be against us but we have to accept that it is part of something we call, life. See its brighter side. As Bong Roque in his book BigGER Hearts has written, it’s all a matter of perspective and choice.

Me, a loser? I know right! Haha!

Suggested Posts

• Spotlight: Perfect 10*
• A Flight from Light’s Plight
• Six AguPips graduate with honors
• NEU wins Overall Championship of Sining 2008
• Babarug Pipitik 4: Semi-Final Tally